Lover Destined
by Luna 24601
Summary: Born as a warrior and able to see the future, Gabrielle Seeing Bird never saw herself returning to Caldwell. But when she's called for help, she returns to the city to keep an eye on the Black Dagger Brotherhood and a new group of brothers. However, after meeting the male Nightmahre and seeing his future, can she change it with her in it or will she lose the one she loves?
1. Chapter 1

Lover Destined

Chapter One

"Look who's here."

Gabrielle didn't know if she should take that as a compliment or an insult. All she did was drop her duffle full of clothes and suitcase filled with non-clothes on the floor and collapsed on the bar stool. She had booked the first flight out of Wyoming at ten p.m. and just arrived in Caldwell around seven p.m.. Since the bar hadn't opened just yet, she took this opportunity to close her eyes from a few seconds before looking up at her friend.

It had been five years when Gabrielle left and now she was back because Sam called her for help. Now her friend had to have a big reason to contact her since she made it perfectly clear she wanted be left alone.

"Care to explain why you called me so late last night?" she demanded.

Sam placed the cup he was cleaning on the counter and poured some whiskey in it. Taking the cup and downing the drink in one gulp, Gabrielle shoved the cup across the counter and waited for her friend to start talking.

"We have a situation."

"Care to define situation. And if you say this is a _lesser _problem, I'm on the next flight back home."

Sam understood his friend's situation. The very reason why Gabrielle left Caldwell five years ago had to deal with a race of hunters who hunted vampires. Because of unwanted attention, she left the life she developed in the city and refused to come back. But Sam was given little choice considering the circumstances. There were things going on that only she could do.

Walking around the counter and taking a seat next to Gabrielle, he raked his hand through his brown hair and took a deep breath.

"Things between the Black Dagger Brotherhood have heated up over the years. _Lessers _have been popping up more than usual and we got two new parties in the area."

"Hold up. What do you mean that there's two parties?"

Sam nods up to the ceiling. "I figured you didn't have a place to stay. You can use the spare room upstairs. It has a bed, stove, even a bathroom. I already have boxes filled with reports for you to be updated on. But since you want some info right now, I'll give you a tiny summary. Only a month after you left, Wrath took his place as king."

"Fuck."

Before Sam had time to continue, Gabrielle reached over and pulled out the whiskey. Not bothering with the cup, she drank right from the bottle and waved for him to continue. She was so going to need this drink if she wanted to make it through this.

"Nearly all the Brothers have _shellans _and Rehvenge has taken over the _sympath_ colony as its rightful king. That's all the info I'll tell you about the vampires. As for the new parties, there's a group known as the band of bastards. From what I gathered, they came over from the Old Country and have been challenging Wrath for his throne."

"Who's the leader?"

"A male named Xcor."

"Fine. I'll read up on them and see what they have planned in the future. Now what about this other party?"

"About that. I think it's best that you start reading up. All I know is that they're a group of brothers who've been hunting _lessers _and have been avoiding the Brothers. Besides the _lesser _outbreak, these brothers are the reason why I've called you."

That was all Sam got to say. Someone knocked at the door and the two peeked over to see that the employees were showing up. Since that was all Sam was going to tell Gabrielle, they got up from the stools and went their separate ways. Gabrielle collected her bags and took the back way that led her to the room upstairs.

Everything Sam told her was true. The room was slightly dusty but livable. The first thing she tried was the electricity and sighed with relief when the lights flickered on. Dumping her bags on the bed and testing the water, Gabriel mentally checked off water and pluming before taking the first box. Scanning through them, she decided to start on this group of brothers Sam called her for. Going through the first one only to see it full of the Brotherhood, she continued until she found what she needed in the last box.

Taking it to the bed and jumping on top of the covers, she jumped around on her knees until she was at the center and dumped the folders right on her lap. Snatching the first folder and opening it, Gabrielle's heart sped up a bit. For a second, she thought she was looking at a fellow soldier who went through war. The male's dark gold eyes held horrors that tore the greatest warriors from the inside until nothing was left. Since Gabrielle and Sam had been part of the same unit that had been stationed in Afghanistan, she now understood why her friend called her.

He wanted her to see this male's future.

Going through the Intel that was on him, the male's name was Nightmahre and he was the oldest of four brothers. He favored a sword than a gun and always led the attack on the _lessers_. He was always the one in front in all the pictures and held himself like any warrior of the vampire race.

Gabrielle didn't need to read more about Nightmahre. She knew her task at hand. Just like her father and his father before him, she had the ability to see the future of any individual and her mission for the moment was to see this male's future.

Reaching for her duffle, she pulled out a small box and lifted the lid. Pulling out a stem of white sage and lightening it with a lighter, she blew out the fire and waved the smoke towards her. Whispering in Algonquian, she called upon the spirits of her people and closed her eyes.

With the picture of Nightmahre in her mind, she looked into his future.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two

Nightmahre didn't know what to do. The night had been a slow one and there hadn't been a single _lesser_. Since the sun would be up in a few hours, his brothers left to go pick up their _shellans _from the bar they worked at. Nightmahre tagged along only to keep an eye on them in case the Brotherhood showed up.

While his brothers were in the bar called The Pack, Nightmahre sat perched on the roof of the neighboring building. He had his sword resting against his shoulder with his hand on its sheath and his eyes scanned the area. The night was quiet with the occasional honks and laughs. Since nothing was out of the ordinary, the only thing that kept Nightmahre company were his thoughts. And that was the last thing he wanted to think about.

But his thoughts were already in his head. He remembered that he had his own _shellan _and was happy. His beautiful Rhoslyn would always welcome him home after a long day of work. They had their own house deep in the mountains and would visit his brothers on the weekends. They were so happy that they eventually agreed that they wanted young of their own. Even though Nightmahre was worried, Rhoslyn wanted young so bad that he no longer worried. He, too, wanted sons and daughters to teach and love.

Everything would've been perfect.

Nightmahre quickly banished the memory he dearly wished to forget. He had left the Old Country to hunt _lessers _and his brothers followed with their _shellans_. Because of him they were in Caldwell hunting the very enemy that took his precious Rhoslyn from him. After losing too many people he cared for, it was his sole mission to take out as many _lessers _until he was killed. Only then would he be reunited with his Rhoslyn.

Taking out his phone, he realized that his brothers had been in the bar way too long. Standing and strapping his sword to his hip, Nightmahre dematerialized from the roof and reappeared in the alley behind the bar. Walking around to the front and entering, the bar was lively tonight. Just like other bars in the city, The Pack was a simply bar with a bar stand in the back with the kitchen door next to it and a stage where a live band was playing. Tables were everywhere that there was a tiny platform to hold more customers. As for the stage, there was a small area for people to dance to the music and they were just doing that.

When Nightmahre entered, people immediately moved aside. Just like his brothers, he was easily six-foot five and had the body of a trained killer. Covered in black, Nightmahre wore a black trench coat to hide his sword and his shit kickers clicked on the wooden floor as he made his way through the crowd. But when some asshole bumped into him and demanded what was his problem, all Nightmahre had to do was look at the human and he nearly pissed in his pants. Underneath his thick black hair were dark golden eyes that only an animal could possess. And whenever someone pushed his buttons, those eyes were the only thing that told the person he would kill.

Forgetting the human, Nightmahre found his brothers at the bar. Weaving over to them, Nightmahre tapped Sohrrow's shoulder to get his attention. Sohrrow, the second oldest of the four, turned around to face his brother. Ehnvy, the fourth oldest, and Phride, the youngest of the four, stopped laughing long enough to see that their brother was becoming impatient.

Anyone could tell the four were brothers. Their eyes were exactly like Nightmahre's and they had thick black hair like him. But while Nightmahre's hair reached past his shoulders that he had to tie it, Sohrrow had short hair that only reached past his ears. Ehnvy and Phride sported the same look Sohrrow did and their hair barely reached their shoulders. Unlike Nightmahre, his brothers wore jackets covering their guns and knives since he was the only one who favored using the sword. The only thing different between him and them was their attitudes.

"Hey, Night. About time you came in," joked Sohrrow.

Ehnvy and Phride laughed at their brother's comment. But when Nightmahre didn't laugh, Sohrrow threw his arm around his brother's shoulder and gave him a wide smile. Not showing any emotion except annoyance, Sohrrow took the hint and backed up.

"We leaving?"

"Yeah. We're just giving the ladies time to gather their things."

Nightmahre couldn't argue about that. When they had arrived in Caldwell barely a year ago, Sohrrow had suggested their _shellans _find a place to work. The others agreed since it was one way how to make sure their females were safe during the night. When they asked them, the females accepted and found work here at the bar. Knowing that they were here safe and not home alone comforted the males and made their work slightly easier.

They just had to hunt down _lessers _and avoid the Brotherhood as much as possible.

As they waited, Nightmahre scanned the area in case the enemy was around. But not a single whiff of baby powder was in the air. Sensing no enemy to kill, Nightmahre began to feel uncomfortable. He never like coming to places like this since it made him feel vulnerable and he just had never been in the mood to party.

Unable to settle his uneasiness, he rested his hand on the hilt. It was then that the three females appeared from the kitchen doors. Lhyra, a petite female with curly blond hair and wide brown eyes, kissed Sohrrow for she was his _shellan _and Annahbeth, who was almost tall as her _hellren_, hugged Ehnvy as he swiped back a brown strand from her blue eyes. Phride took Ehmma's hand and whispered something into her red hair that made her green eyes widen. All Nightmahre could do was look the other way as his brothers showed their affection for their females.

The room felt like it slowed down.

Looking straight at a flight of stairs, Nightmahre watched as a woman walked down. From the way how her long black hair was tied in a simple ponytail and how she was dressed told him that she was tired. Sporting a pair of jeans with the knees torn out and a black tank top, anyone could tell she didn't need much to attract a man's attention. The jeans hugged her legs in every corner and the tank top barely hid her large breasts. Her skin was slightly tanned to a nice brown and her high cheek bones made her dark brown eyes stand out.

What caught Nightmahre's attention was what was around her neck. Hanging on a silver chain were two dog tags and a chocker made out four rows of buffalo bones.

Seeing the way how this female held herself, Nightmahre was surprised as she walked through the crowd. It almost seemed as if she controlled the humans because they moved away from her like water until she disappeared behind the door labeled Employees Only. Nightmahre's eyes were still on the door when Sohrrow nudged him with his elbow.

"You okay, brother?"

He ignored him and looked at his brother's _shellan_. "Who's that?" he asked Lhyra.

She looked at the door for a second before her eyes widened as if an idea popped in her mind. "That's a friend of Sam's. I think her name is…um…what was her name again?"

"Gabrielle Seeing Bird."

They all looked at Ehmma. She just shrugged her coat on and lifted her shoulders. Then she pointed to the picture hanging on the wall over the bar. It had to be in the middle of the day in a desert and the picture looked like it was taken on an army base. On the right was Sam and the one named Gabrielle was next to him with shorter hair. There were four other men wearing the same uniforms as the two and they were all smiling.

"Seeing Bird? That's an unusual name."

"She's Cheyenne. She and Sam were in the same unit when they were stationed in Afghanistan. All I know is that she arrived during the first shift and is staying up in the spare room Sam owns."

After Ehmma explained, the brothers started leading the way out of the bar for their females. But Nightmahre took his time following. Sohrrow was in the front and he trusted his younger brother to lead them out this time. The fact was, Nightmahre couldn't stop looking over his shoulder at the door.

Many words came to mind when he thought of the female named Gabrielle. Soldier. Fighter. Warrior. Survivor. Every single word was true just by the way how he watched her walk. The female looked like a soldier in every way that only an idiot would mistake her with someone weaker. Those eyes of hers held a powerful fire that would tell anyone that she wouldn't stand for no bullshit and throw down if have to. That small glimpse of the female told Nightmahre that if she had been a member of his race that she would be one of its protectors.

Now he couldn't get her out of his head after he left the bar.

* * *

Gabrielle slammed the door behind her and slumped down in one of the chairs facing Sam's desk. After finding nothing interesting about the male named Nightmare, she went through the other folders Sam made for her. With barely any sleep, she wished that she had kept an eye on this place because she missed a lot. Seeing her frustration, Sam finished whatever he was doing on his computer and leaned back in his chair.

"Well?"

"Well what?" she hissed. Sam just held up his hands showing he wasn't a threat. Gabrielle hated feeling like shit. It brought out the nasty part of her and it always scared the crap out of people. Sam and the guys found out the hard way when she had visions on the field. She would be fine one moment and then be raging bitch the next. That's how she felt since she wasted almost two hours looking into the male's future and spending the rest of the night going through the folders twice in case she missed anything.

Taking a couple of deep breaths, she pinched the bridge of her nose for an oncoming headache. When she felt like talking, Gabrielle stretched her arms out and started cracking her knuckles.

"The guy is a robot."

"A robot?" questioned Sam.

"Yeah. Nightmahre's a one track minded guy. He just hunts, kills and sleeps. It's almost like he's just going through the motions."

"How far did you see?"

"About a week. He just does the same thing over and over again. It's kind of depressing actually."

Sam rubbed his chin from the news he just gathered. "And the files I gave you?"

Gabrielle sighed out loud and nodded her head. Now that she was caught up, things were going to change in this city. She had already seen what would happen to Nightmahre and his brothers in twenty-four hours that she kept her mouth shut. Sam didn't need to worry about the males until the future came true since it had little to do with him. As for the other trouble makers, Gabrielle didn't see the band of bastards making any moves that it gave her some time to do her own hunting.

As for the Brotherhood, she would have to be careful around them. It was bad enough they have to worry about the brothers and the bastards. The last thing they needed was a human that can see the future getting in their business. But in some weird way, Gabrielle kind of missed the vampires. She couldn't wait to get on the streets and see them even though they didn't know she existed.

Slapping her knees, she jumped right up and twisted her back. Sam looked up to see her walking to the door and opening it to a crack. When he asked her where she was going, she told him that she needed a power nap if she was going out tonight.

"But you just got back? Don't you think you need to wait a bit?"

"Nah. I've already wasted five years. I need the work out and see who my competition is. So I'm heading out at seven and won't be back until daybreak." Gabrielle was about to walk out when she stops. Looking over her shoulder, she smiled at her friend. "I know I told you never to contact me. But I'm kind of glad you did. I sort of miss this place and it needs a clean up."

Closing the door behind her, Gabrielle made her way back to the room above the bar. Customers were slowly leaving and the band that was playing before started packing up. With little noise down below, Gabrielle didn't hear a thing when she closed the door behind her. The little clock on the nightstand showed that it was almost four in the morning. That meant she had some time to catch up on her sleep.

Shrugging out of her pants and top, she jumped in the bed only wearing her bra and underwear. Finding her way under the covers and hitting the pillow, Gabrielle tried her best to get some sleep. She would need it if she was going to do some hunting. But she couldn't get any sleep because of what she saw. Nightmahre's future worried her deeply like no other. The male was slowly destroying himself inside that it would eventually take his life. In some weird way, she felt responsible for him. She was called here to keep a close eye on him and she would do just that.

She just hoped that what was about to happen in twenty-four hours would help him and his brothers.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Three

Last Meal had just ended and Wrath had issues to attend to. The reports of a group of males taking matters into their own hands worried the king along with Xcor and his bastards. But these males were organized and fast when it came to cleaning their mess. Not once had the Brothers seen them face-to-face. The only thing that they saw was the males taking off after killing groups of _lessers_ and disappearing into the night.

Taking off his wraparounds and rubbing his eyes, Wrath placed his glasses back in place and listened to the Brothers. Because he was blind, he had to rely on his seeing dog, George, and his hearing when he knew he wasn't alone in the study. Tohrment was standing next to his king while the other brothers were in their usual spots. Rhage was all over the couch and unwrapping one of his candies. Zsadist and Phury were leaning next to one of the many windows that were now covered in steel to protect them from the sun. Vishous was at a table pouring himself some Goose and Butch made himself comfortable on one of the other couches. John Mathew stood next to the door that led to the mansion with Qhuinn next to him and Blaylock nearby.

The group was almost whole when the doors opened and Rehvenge, king of the _sympaths_, walked in. Even though he wasn't part of the Brotherhood, he was in town when the attacks happened and he wanted to know what was going on. Xhex was right behind him and closed the doors. She looked at John, her _hellren, _for a second before taking her spot next to Rehv.

With everyone here, Wrath started the meeting.

"I think we've allowed these males run around playing hero long enough," he started.

The Brothers nodded their heads in agreement. It was dangerous to have a group of males in the streets hunting the enemy. The Brothers didn't know the way they thought and didn't know if they would be a liability. It was only a matter before they got themselves killed or a civilian. The Brotherhood couldn't have the deaths of innocent vampires on their consciousness.

Tossing his drink straight up, Vishous walked up the Wrath and handed Tohr one of the folders he had been holding. He then tossed the rest to Hollywood to pass around. In every folder was the best snap shots camera surveillance V could get the males. Anyone could tell they were brothers since the four of them had the same hair color and eyes. Every single one of them was armed with just about the same tools the Brothers used except the one that looked in charge. While the others used guns and knives, he used only a sword and nothing else.

A small gasp comes from the front and everyone looked at Tohr. Even Wrath's head perked to his left when he heard his friend make a sound. Tohrment started to rush through the folder that the pages nearly blurred. When he came to the last picture, he stared at the front page that had the picture of the male wielding the sword.

"You okay, bro?" asked Rhage.

Tohr probably didn't mean to do it but he threw the folder on Wrath's desk that the picture flooded all over the top. Rubbing his own eyes, he looked at his fellow Brothers. Since he had been in the Brotherhood the longest, he remembered one member that had wielded a sword. He also remembered the Brother had sons of his own.

"His name is Nightmahre. And if I'm right, those are his brothers."

"Mehrcy's boys!"

Heads turned to V. He peeked at the photos he collected before slapping himself on the forehead. "I'm such a fucking idiot! How could I not recognize them?"

"It's been centuries since we saw them. And back then it was only Nightmahre."

"Can someone please explain what's going on?" moaned Qhuinn.

Since Tohr remembered the male way better than Vishous, he took the floor on this one. "There was once a Brother named Mehrcy. I remember seeing him a few times with Darius when they would hunt down _lesser_.The male wasn't too keen on making friends. He always kept to himself and never listened when we found groups of _lessers_. And he always favored using a sword. He favored it so much that instead of having a black dagger, he made a black sword."

"I don't remember anything about the male," Wrath said.

"You never met him, my lord. He left the Brotherhood after he mated a Chosen. I saw him on rare occasions and that's how I met his first born. Nightmahre was still young and had time before going through his transition but he was already a master at the sword and a warrior at heart. I could say I'm not surprised to see him leading his brothers on these attacks."

Now that they had some info on the males, the Brotherhood managed to figure out who the other brothers were. Seeing that Sohrrow had to be the second-in-command, that made Ehnvy and Phride the soldiers who followed their older brothers. Going through the pictures, the Brothers recognized some places where they do their patrol and managed to map out their patterns.

If they were right, that meant Nightmahre and his brothers would be in the same spot Z, Rhage and Tohr would be tonight. The plan was that if they were there, Tohr would make the call for back-up so they could detain the brothers and bring them back to the mansion. But Wrath made it clear that if they fought back, the Brothers could use force to bring them in. Even if breaking bones were necessary, they had the go ahead to do so.

After confirming the plan, the meeting ended and the Brothers left the study until Tohr and Wrath were the only ones left. Once they were completely alone, Wrath rubbed his eyes again and stood. Knowing that his friend was still next to him, he figured was the time to get info that Tohr held back.

"What aren't you telling me?" Wrath ordered.

"My lord, there are only four brothers. I know for a fact that there are five."

"And how would you know that?"

Tohrment swallowed for a second as he recalled the memory. "When Mehrcy's _shellan _passed, I found out and saw Mehrcy with his sons in a pasture. They had just finished burying his _shellan _when I saw all of them. The one named Sohrrow had a twin named Ahnger. I don't see him in any of the pictures V collected."

"Maybe he died in battle?"

"Perhaps. From what we've found out about the recent attacks, it almost sounds like the brothers show little restraint when they battle. What surprises me most is that Mehrcy isn't here with his boys."

"Dying in battle is a high possibility if you say he was a member of the Brotherhood."

Tohr couldn't disagree on that conclusion. Besides, the Brother wasn't in any of the pictures. The ones they had to worry about were Nightmahre and his younger brothers. They were highly trained and could stand their own if a fight broke out tonight. The one Tohr and V agreed to be wary of was Nightmahre. Everyone could tell from the pictures that he was the last person to deal with. Tohr just hoped he wouldn't have to fight the male. A lot of things were in those eyes of his and the Brother knew that those were the eyes of someone who would kill just to die.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter Four

It was always ironic how Nightmahre had nightmares. He would wake up to find himself grinning because he lived up to his name. And like the nightmare before, it was the same one about his Rhoslyn. The dream would always start out with him coming home after a long day of hunting. Rhoslyn would be standing in the doorway with a smile on her face. He was this close taking her hand when her entire body turned to dust and he was left standing in front of a burned house.

The nightmares would always have him waking up screaming. But now, Nightmahre stared at the ceiling with a grin plastered on his face. Every time he had that nightmare he knew it killed a tiny piece of him. Now if only he could die in battle would he finally be relieved of this unbearable pain. But since fate wouldn't allow it, he rolled up in a sitting position and raked his hand through his hair.

Nightmahre himself lived in an abandoned factory while his brothers and _shellans _lived in the one of the apartments in the city. Since they could only afford one apartment, Nightmahre figured that they didn't need an extra body getting in their way. So he found this place and stayed here ever since.

Taking out his phone to see what time it was, the little numbers glowed past eight. That meant the sun was down. Feeling the urge to go kill some _lessers_, Nightmahre stood up from his mattress bed and walked over to the clothes he had. Slipping into a pair of black pants and a black shirt, he tied his leather strap around his waist and placed his sword in its spot. Throwing on his trench coat and shoving his feet in his shit kickers, Nightmahre shoved his phone in his pocket and dematerialized from the factory.

Materializing in front of a door with 6B under the peep hole, Nightmahre knocked once when Ehnvy opened up. The brother was fully dressed with dry toast between his teeth. Behind him Phride was strapping his guns in place while trying to finish a cup of coffee. Ehmma was brushing her wild red hair and took Phride's cup when he chugged the rest down. Lhyra and Annahbeth were in the kitchen drying the last dishes. Sohrrow was at the table putting his guns back in order after what looked like he was cleaning them.

Stepping aside, Ehnvy finished his toast and closed the door behind his brother. Nightmahre just found a corner to stand in and waited for his brothers to finish up. Since he was finished first and ready for battle, Sohrrow joined Nightmahre in his corner.

"Up a little early, Night."

"Not really. Just on time."

Sohrrow laughed when Ehnvy and Phride were ready. And right behind them were the three females. They gave their _hellrens _a quick kiss before dematerializing to The Pack. Knowing that they were safe from _lessers_, the brothers did the same and materialized in an alley way.

"So what do we got tonight?" yawned Phride.

They were on the other side of the city where there was barely human activity. The occasional cars would drive by and the hookers would get the drivers attention. Only a few clubs that drunks and overworked men went to were open. Store owners were already waiting for their day to end so they could go home.

Besides the humans, there were no civilians in the area.

Taking lead, Nightmahre walked to the sidewalk with Sohrrow next to him and their brothers flanking them. No one bothered to look at the four giant vampires as they walked down the sidewalk. The smart ones got out of the way and the ones too drunk dumped into them without any problems. Some hookers would walk in their direction only to have them walk right past them.

The night was starting out slow and Nightmahre was getting restless. He needed to quench his urge to kill. But he also had to keep his urge under control for his brothers. There was no way in hell he would lead his brothers to their deaths. He would kill himself if he ever let that happen. And then their _shellans _would bring him back from the dead and kill him the second time.

* * *

Rhage yawned out loud and stretch his arms like a cat. Z rolled his eyes and looked out the window. Tohr was sitting in the back of the Escalade, scanning the streets. The Brothers had left the mansion two hours ago in hopes of catching the brothers. But the streets had been quiet for all two hours and one could tell Rhage was getting bored. It was only a matter of time before Z punched him from all his yawning.

Just to show his boredom, Rhage threw open his door and stepped out. Slamming it behind him and taking a couple of steps, he twisted his back and raised his arms high above his head. Z must've been bored too because he got out as well and stretched. Seeing nothing to do in the vehicle, Tohr joined his Brothers and stretched as well.

"How much longer are we going to wait for them?" Rhage whined.

"I can't believe I'm going to say this but I agree with him," spoke Zsadist.

"Wrath said that we're supposed to wait for them until we have to turn in for the night. So we wait here until we see them."

Hollywood groaned out loud and started unwrapping one of his pops. Z leaned against the Escalade and crossed his arms. All Tohr could do was stuff his hands in his pockets and watch the streets.

Another hour passed and the only people on the streets were humans. Not a single _lesser _had been spotted. Tohr sighed out loud and joined Z who had closed his eyes some time ago. Rhage was on his sixth candy when something caught his eye. Leaning over to get a better look, he saw a male from the pictures disappear from his view.

"Guys," he called.

Tohr and Z stood up, ready for some action. All Rhage did was wave his hand and the Brothers had their hand on their weapons. Following Hollywood, they dematerialized and appeared on top of a building across the street. The three of them scanned the area before dematerializing to the next building. That's when they saw the one that looked like Phride take a turn into an alley.

Dematerializing one more time, the Brothers looked down to see all four brothers leaning against the building they were on. Their faces almost looked like Rhage's a second ago. It seems the lack of action got to them too because they looked bored to death. And since they were bored, they failed to realize they were being followed.

Wiping out his phone, Tohrment made the call to the other Brothers and gave them their location. In only seconds did the others appear. John, Qhuinn and Blay were standing to Tohr's left and V and Phury were behind Z. Butch was on his way since he couldn't dematerialize like the others.

With the Brothers all accounted for, they slowly took out their weapons until they were fully armed. Tohr waved John and his group to take one end while the other took the other. Nodding their heads, the Brothers dematerialized and appeared in their spots. Guns at the ready and daggers in their positions, the males quickly surrounded the brothers.

Shock was on their face before being replaced. They drew their guns as well and one drew his sword. Even though there were buildings to their sides, the brothers managed to put their back against one another, forming a star-like formation.

"We just want to talk," hollered Tohr.

The one with the sword narrowed his eyes. Tohr watched as the male whispered to his brother. When he saw him shake his head, the male tightened his grip on his sword.

"Shit," growled Tohr.

Then hell broke loose.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter Five

This was so not the way how Nightmahre wanted to spend his night. The night had been a bust and he was thinking of giving his brothers the rest of the night off when they were instantly surrounded by the Black Dagger Brotherhood. Taking their position, the brothers drew their weapons and waited for the fight to begin.

When the one with black hair and dark blue eyes spoke first, Nightmahre narrowed his eyes when they told them they just wanted to talk. Inching back to Sohrrow, he looked at his brother. "Do you want to take them on their offer?" he asked his younger brother.

Sohrrow thought for a second. He shook his head.

"Fuck them."

Nightmahre looked back at the Brothers. He didn't have to tell the males they weren't taking their offer. All Nightmahre did was tighten his hold on his sword and that was enough. Before the Brothers had time to attack, Sohrrow backed up to Ehnvy and Phride and the three of them took off in a dead sprint towards the three in front of them. Nightmahre charged head first towards the crowd of Brothers on his own.

* * *

V didn't have time to bring his gun up. The one named Nightmahre ducked low and swung his sword. Trying to jump out of the way, V barely dodged the attack when Nightmahre brought his sword up and spun around on his heel. Cold steel sliced right through Vishous's jacket and his back. When he was going down to his knees, the heel of Nightmahre's shit kickers came in view before kicking V right in the face.

Watching their fellow Brother go down, Zsadist and Phury ran straight to Nightmahre with their daggers in hand. Rhage dematerialized to the fight happening on the other side. Blaylock was already down and that left John and Qhuinn fighting for their lives. But the two couldn't hold their end because while Phride and Ehnvy fought like one warrior, Sohrrow kept circling and attacking in every weak spot the two couldn't block.

When Rhage joined the fight, Sohrrow broke off from his attacks and greeted the Brother with knives in his hands. Rhage attacked the male with his dagger and when he brought both knives down, he used his other hand holding his gun to pull the trigger. But Sohrrow ducked and barely missed the bullet. Wrapping his arm around the Brother's, Sohrrow brought his knife right through Rhage's rib cage and flipped the Brother over his shoulder.

Seeing that his opponent was down for the time being, he rejoined his brothers who were now having a difficulty holding their ground.

Z used his free hand and attempted to punch Nightmahre with Phury bringing his dagger up high. But Nightmahre saw their move coming and he used his sword to block both attacks. Twisting the hilt with a flick of his wrist, the sword spun like a circle and cut both of the Brothers in the arm.

Watching them back up for a second, Nightmahre charged after Phury and shoved his sword right through the Brother's shoulder. Phury screamed out loud as Nightmahre pulled out his sword and was silenced when the male finished his move by slicing him down the chest. Hearing his twin scream out in pain must've made Z's blood boil because he dematerialized and slammed Nightmahre right into the wall.

Accidently dropping his sword, Nightmahre tried to push the giant Brother off but had his face slammed in the wall multiple times. Then the weight was gone and Nightmahre turned around to see Sohrrow twisting Zsadist's arm and breaking it. Taking a second to see out of his good eye, Nightmahre saw that the one spoke before hadn't moved.

Nightmahre would've reached for his sword when a fist punched him square in the jaw. Losing his balance for a second, Nightmahre looked at his new opponent only to realize too late that the new male was the distraction. Tohrment saw the opening and dematerialized right in front of Nightmahre. With two black daggers in his hands, he shoved them in Nightmahre's stomach and in his left shoulder.

Head butting Tohr, Nightmahre staggered for a second and pulled out the dagger in his stomach. It hadn't been a kill shot. The Brother just wounded him. And it worked since it was taking its toll on Nightmahre.

Hearing a gun going off, Nightmahre took this chance to see what was happening to his brothers. Sohrrow was still fighting Z while Phride and Ehnvy were holding their own on John and Qhuinn. His brothers were doing their best to fight off the vampires that protected their race. But Nightmahre knew that they had to retreat. All four of them were badly wounded and the Brothers that had been knocked down were fighting their way back up. And Nightmahre knew he was the weak link if the battle continued. His brothers were the only ones who had fed from their _shellans_ not long ago while he had not once took a vein from a female since his Rhoslyn passed. Only surviving on human blood, Nightmahre had always relied on his brute strength to make up for his physical weakness. Now he was reaching his point and could feel the need to rest approaching.

Seeing no other way, Nightmahre grinded his teeth and used his remaining strength to tackle Butch. Even though Cop managed to kick off Nightmahre, the male rolled and grabbed his sword. Coming up to his feet, he ran right behind Z and stabbed the male in the back. Catching a faint glimpse of his sword and pulling it out, he sidestepped around the Brother as he fell and joined Sohrrow. His brother saw his plan in his eyes and held up his hands in case they would be attacked.

Looking over his shoulder, Nightmahre saw Ehnvy kick John in an attempt to fight off the Brother. Phride had lost his weapons and had his hands up like a boxer while Qhuinn still had one dagger.

"Ehnvy! Phride! Disperse!"

The others took a second to get ready to dematerialize. Nightmahre didn't have the chance.

Almost like his attack had little effect, Z jumped up to his feet and tackled Nightmahre. But the male forgot about his strength because when he took the Nightmahre by surprise, the both of them fell and Nightmahre hit his head against a dumpster. The last thing he saw was everyone stopping before the world went dark.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter Six

It hadn't been a pretty future. Nightmahre and his brothers would have a fight of their lives. The Brotherhood would be put to the test since the brothers were nearly as strong as they were. No one would die since they would be treated in time. Even Nightmahre who just received a concussion. The only thing that would be damaged for a while would be everyone's pride. But watching him in real life hitting his head sent a slight shiver down Gabriel's spin.

Five buildings away and watching through a scope, Gabrielle had watched the whole fight unfold in front of her. She counted every step and predicted every move until the battle was over. Nightmahre went down and wasn't getting up thanks to Z's insane strength. Sohrrow and the others stopped fighting and ran to their brother's aid when he wasn't waking up. It was thanks to Tohr's quick thinking that they all called a truce and rushed the male into the Escalade. With Butch driving like a bat out of hell, the others dematerialized and the alley was once abandoned.

Now that the fight was over, Gabrielle stuffed her scope in one of her inside pockets and sat up. The building she was in was completely abandoned that not even the bums were sleeping in it. Some of the rooms had already caved in, the beams supporting the building were weak. Nearly all the windows were gone if not hanging as sharp teeth. All the carpet was gone from rotting or rats eating it. Nothing in the building was hospitable. The place was just begging to be knocked down.

But Gabrielle would make due. She made herself comfortable in the disgusting room and closed her eyes. Two days seemed good to her. So she looked two day into the future to see if anything had changed.

* * *

_Nightmahre was on patrol somewhere in Caldwell. He scanned the city like a hawk and stayed in the shadows. But something must've annoyed him because his face hardened when he looked back. Standing right behind him like he had all the time in the world was Rhage. Just like his usual self, he was sucking on one of his pops. But he was sucking it real loud to see what the male would do._

_"Stop that," growled Nightmahre._

_"Not a chance," grinned Rhage. He sucked the pop louder. "And don't think of anything funny. Unlike you're brothers, your still on parole."_

_"Just shut the fuck up."_

_But the brother had a point. Sohrrow and the others were in the clear now that they had joined the Brotherhood. It's just that Wrath needed to be convinced Nightmahre wasn't a liability. So he had the male team up with Rhage on patrols. Now that Nightmahre knew about the beast that lived in Rhage, he was careful not to upset him. That meant he would have to watch himself if he wanted the male to stop babysitting him._

_Checking his phone to see that there was only two hours left before sunrise, Nightmahre stuffed the phone in his jacket and walked out of the alley._

_"Where you going?"_

_"The Pack. Sohrrow and the others should be picking up their _shellans_. I'll be back at the mansion after they leave."_

_Rhage just waved him off since he knew about his brothers' females. Seeing that the Brother was getting ready to head out, Nightmahre dematerialized to meet up with his brothers._

* * *

Gabrielle opened her eyes. Everything seemed to be following its rightful course. Nightmahre and his brothers would become part of the Black Dagger Brotherhood. It seemed that the younger brothers would easily adjust to their new lives. It was only Nightmahre who was being difficult.

The more Gabrielle thought about it, the more she wished she could also see the past. Seeing the future was good for fights and other things. But seeing the past could make things clearer. And right now, she wanted to know what was with the male. He had brothers and sister-in-laws. He would become a Brother, a vampire that protected the vampire race from the _Lessing Society_. And yet, he didn't look happy. In fact, he looked like he was ready to call it quits any day now.

"Damn it, Enkoodabooaoo," she mumbled. Then she slapped herself on the forehead. She just gave the male a name. But the name did fit him. And she kind of liked it. So Gabrielle shrugged her shoulders and stood up. She had a feeling she would see the male again. She just hoped that it would be on her own terms and not because the future said so.

Packing up her stuff, Gabrielle walked over to the window she had been looking out a second ago and clipped her belt to the rope. Pushing herself off the ledge, she slid down the building without making a sound and unhooked herself. Giving the rope a tug, it unfolded and fell to her feet. Wrapping it up and stuffing it in her bag, Gabrielle walked over to the truck she hid in the alley.

Sam had lent her his beat-up truck since she didn't have a vehicle. The plates were fake and so were the tags. In case she had to dump it, no one would be able to figure out whose it was and it could easily be dumped. Hopping in the driver's seat and shoving the key in the ignition, the motor sputtered for a few seconds. Just to get it going, Gabriel got out and kicked the piece of shit. It was on the third kick did it roar to life.

"Crappy rust bucket."

Hopping back in the truck, Gabrielle pulled out of the alley and merged in the street. The brothers were done for the day and the Brotherhood had to deal with them. That meant no one was on patrol tonight and that meant it was easy pickings for Gabrielle.

While driving, she cleared her mind and looked a few minutes into the future. Sure enough, she saw some _lesser _movement a few lights from her. Coming back to reality, she sped up just a bit and stopped right in front of a white van five lights later. Checking the plates, it was the same van she just saw. Remembering the fight that was about to happen, there were six _lessers _inside and two of them were newbies.

Gabrielle tightened her hold on the steering wheel. Her heart was beating a thousand miles a second and her body was twitching with too much adrenaline. It took the training she received from the army and her father to stay calm. Following the van a car behind, Gabrielle kept the truck out of sight and shifted into the other lane a couple of times. Counting the seconds, she turned in an alley the same time the van did.

With only a building between them, Gabrielle killed the truck and checked her weapons. The suitcase she had brought with her had been filled with two Beretta M9s and her personal weapon. Checking the mags to see them fully loaded, Gabrielle placed one pistol in its holster and touched the holster tied to her waist.

She was ready for some killing.

Opening the door and slowly closing it, she crouched down and brought her Beretta in front of her. Because the lights were out, she had the advantage and hid in the shadows. Silently walking, Gabrielle easily slipped in the alley where the white van was hiding. The _lessers _were already out and waiting for some more to join them. The two newbies were standing in the back and failed to notice the human creeping up on them.

Seeing everything working her way, Gabrielle went to her knee real slow and held her position. Counting to eight seconds, three more _lessers _joined the crowd. Now that there were nine _lessers _in front of her, Gabrielle aimed at one of the newbies. All nine _lessers _turned their backs to her.

She pulled the trigger.

The first bullet hit the newbie right dab in the head. His body jerked like he got hit by lightning and he fell to the ground. Before the other newbie had time to react, Gabrielle shot him in the head as well and he went down. The other _lessers _turned around to see her advancing on them. When they reached for their guns, Gabrielle shot twice and both bullets hit a _lesser _in the head.

Continuing with her advance, she kept her finger on the trigger. Trying to take cover, the _lessers _hid behind the van and starting shooting. Following her vision, Gabrielle shot out the back tires and the van fell. She heard a few startled yelps and knew the enemy was scared. They had been trained somewhat to fight vampires. Yes, they had guns. Yes, they had more men. But they never expected a woman fully armed with training to come after them. And she knew the fact that she was human was messing with their heads.

Placing the gun in its holster, Gabrielle reached for the weapon on her waist. If she wanted to finish this fight, she would have to do it with silence. In six minutes this alley would be filled with cops and she didn't want to be here.

Taking a can and tossing it to her left, the _lessers _fired to the left and left their right side open. Silently approaching them from the right, Gabrielle pulled her weapon from its holster and held it up. Taking one big breath, she jumped from behind the van and went for the first _lesser_.

He didn't have time to block her. All the _lesser _saw was the sharp edge of Gabrielle's tomahawk before nearly cutting his head off. Falling right in front of her, his buddies slowly reacted. Gabrielle brought her weapon up and shoved her sharp end right in the _lesser's_ chin and threw him to the side. One _lesser _tripped over his friend and Gabrielle came down on his spine. With him unable to move, Gabrielle left the _lesser _and made quick work of the one he tripped over.

She grabbed him by the shirt and slammed the edge in his head. Black blood squirted all over her face and jacket. Now there were only three left. Tossing the body and running to the _lesser _reaching for his gun, Gabrielle didn't stop when she sliced him from his stomach all the way up to his left shoulder. The body fell right behind her as she ran after the two _lessers _running for their lives. When one fell, she whacked him in the head when he tried to get up and threw her tomahawk at the other one. Hitting him right in the head, the _lesser _fell on his face and didn't get back up.

There were no more _lessers_.

Gabrielle walked over to all the bodies and staked them. Their bodies glowed for a second and made a _popping _sound. All that was left of them were their clothes and the van. Collecting all the clothes, Gabrielle dumped them in the van and emptied all the gas from the containers in the back. With the van completely covered in gasoline, Gabrielle reached for the lighter in the front seat, got out of the van, and lit the van on fire.

Her job was done for the night. Cops would come and suspect a drug dealing gone wrong. No one would figure out what really happened. Not even the Brotherhood.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter Seven

"Well, you have a thick skull, I'll give you that. Besides the concussion, everything seems to be in place. You'll feel tired for a while and a little dizzy. If you feel like you're getting any headaches, come to me and I'll get you something to ward them off."

Clicking the tiny light off, Jane wrote something on her chart and smiled as Nightmahre rubbed his eyes. He blinked a couple of times before they fully adjusted. Then he remembered he wasn't the only one in the room. Sohrrow had stayed by his side as they rushed him to the mansion. Zsadist did a good job in giving the brothers a fight for his life because if he stayed asleep any longer, he would've stayed asleep permanently. Now here he was in the Brotherhoods infirmary with V's _shellan _giving him a checkup. What made the checkup feel like an interrogation was because Vishous was in the room staring bullets at him.

Nightmahre ignored the Brother. Even though he was the reason why the male's chest was wrapped up like a mummy, he didn't like the way he was staring at him. Sohrrow didn't seem to care because he sighed in relief and slumped in the chair he was sitting in. His brother was bandaged up as well. In fact, all the males had to have some work done on them. Nightmahre had to get some stitches from the wounds he received from Tohr and he still couldn't see out of his right eye because of Z. The brother didn't sound so apologetic when Nightmahre came to. In fact, he almost sounded glad he inflicted some damage on the male.

Collecting her things, Jane gave Nightmahre the okay for him to move around and left with her _hellren _right behind her. Once Nightmahre and Sohrrow were alone, the oldest brother flopped down on the bed he was sitting on and groaned. His chest still hurt like a bitch and his vision slightly danced around.

"It seems we're in a pickle," mumbled Sohrrow.

Nightmahre stayed silent for a while. "It's my fault," he admitted. "It was my call and I allowed y'all guys to get hurt. I should've ordered us to split the moment we were surrounded."

"No it wasn't," Sohrrow argued. "You asked me if we should fight and I said yes. I know you consult with me during those situations and I was a little hot-headed. What happened to Ehnvy and Phride was my fault and not yours. If someone is to blame, I won't hide. I'll take the punishment if there is any."

"No!"

Jumping straight to his feet, the room spun a little that Nightmahre had to hold onto the bed. Sohrrow grabbed his brother and steadied him. When he seemed like he could stand on his own, he released him and stepped back.

"I am the oldest. I should be the one to take the punishment. Not you."

"But, Night. I—"

"Understand?"

There was no point in arguing. Nightmahre made it clear that he was taking the blame on this one. No one could change his mind once it was made. Sohrrow would just have to deal with it.

"Fine. But Lhyra will be pissed that you got this pretty face scratched."

A shudder went through Nightmahre.

Giving his big brother a pat on the back, Sohrrow smiled and headed for the door. Since Doc Jane gave him the thumbs up, Nightmahre took a hesitant step forward and the room stayed still. Catching up to his brother, they walked out to see Ehnvy and Phride having a staring match with Z, Rhage, John and Qhuinn. Out of habit, Nightmahre reached for his waist only to remember that the Brothers took his sword and his brothers' weapons.

Because he was the person he was, Sohrrow stepped in between his brothers and threw his arms around their shoulders. When they both looked up at him, he grabbed the sides of their heads and banged them together. While the two rubbed their new wounds, the Brothers blinked in confusion.

"Now is that any way how to treat our guests?" sulked Sohrrow. He looked at the Brothers and did a fancy bow by waving his hand and leaning forward. That was the same way how he charmed Lhyra and apologized to people. "I apologize for the rude behavior my younger brothers have shown you. If you must, I give you permission to strip them of everything they are wearing and make them walk around the mansion naked for the whole day."

"Sohrrow, you asshole!" shrieked Ehnvy and Phride. They both knew Sohrrow wasn't joking. Beneath that gentlemen face and posture, the brothers knew he was being serious. He was literally giving the Brothers permission strip them of their clothes. They quickly looked to Nightmahre who held up his hands, wanting nothing to do with the suggestion his brother just made.

"Two brothers walking around the mansion with nothing to where?" contemplated Rhage. He rubbed his chin as he thought of the offer. Before he had time to answer, Zsadist slapped him in the back of the head. "Fine," he moaned. "We'll accept your apology but refuse your kind offer."

Now that they were all in agreement, Rhage and Z led the way up to the study with John and Qhuinn following the brothers from behind. Nightmahre led the four with Sohrrow right behind him and the younger brothers flanked their older brothers. Walking up the staircase and entering the mansion, sounds of _doggen _preparing Last Meal was coming from the giant room with a huge table. The males walked past the room until they were standing in front of a very large doorway.

Rhage knocked and opened the doors to reveal the study. All the Brothers were in there waiting. Besides Wrath and Rehvenge who happened to be in the room, all the Brothers had bruises and bandages covering their bodies. The brothers got the occasional glare which Sohrrow smiled off. Ehnvy and Phride ignored the Brothers and scanned the room with their fast eyes as if a threat would jump out of nowhere. Nightmahre just kept his eyes on the king and no one else.

When Rhage closed the doors, Wrath looked up and Nightmahre could see that the Blind King was really blind. The wraparounds did little from Nightmahre seeing the king's eyes and he noticed the golden retriever by the king's side.

"How about we start with a name?" Wrath spoke.

"I am Nightmahre, first born son of the Brother Mehrcy. And these are my brothers Sohrrow, Ehnvy and Phride."

"Now that we got the introductions out of the way, what the fuck are you doing in my city?"

Nightmahre narrowed his eyes. He never liked people talking down to him and he didn't care if it was the king who asked him. He could feel the urge to walk up to Wrath and beat him to a bloody pulp. Luckily, Sohrrow knew his brother and made a sound with his throat. Nightmahre heard him and cooled his jets.

"We're here to hunt _lessers_. Is that not the duty that the Brotherhood should be doing? Because if it is, I would like to say you're doing a poor job at it."

"You damn brat!"

Heads turned to Rhage who was no longer sitting on the couch. Some of the Brothers moved towards him in case he did something stupid. But one could tell that they might let the Brother rip Nightmahre to shreds.

Finding no other solution, Sohrrow moaned and tapped his brother on the shoulder. Looking back, Nightmahre saw the slight annoyance in his younger brother's eyes. Talking politics had never been Nightmahre's strong suit. Where he lacked Sohrrow made up for and right now they needed the brother.

Stepping back for his little brother to take the front, Sohrrow did his fancy bow again and locked his hands behind his back.

"My lord, forgive my brother for his rudeness. All he meant was that we noticed the large numbers of the enemy and thought it would be good will to help lower the numbers."

No one knew how to react to the male. Even though he was just as deadly like his brothers, he could switch over to being a gentleman so easily. And because of that switch, Rhage calmed down and sat back in his chair. Sohrrow watched the Brother before turning his gaze back at the king and smiled an apologetic smile.

"You see, my lord, we just arrived here in this city barely a year ago. We understand if we have upset you and we are sorry for it. We have only been taught to rely on one another from our father and nothing else. The battle that just happened was a means of misfortune. If we have insulted you and your household in any way, we are humble sorry."

Wrath raked his hand through his long hair. Sohrrow was playing the game perfectly that Wrath didn't know what to say. All Nightmahre could do was silently applause his brother for the performance.

"I see one of you has manners," spoke Wrath.

"My mother was a Chosen. She taught me well for situation like this one."

Sohrrow just smiled. In the back, Nightmahre heard a cough and looked at his brother. He just rolled his eyes because Sohrrow was sucking up. Phride pinched Ehnvy, reminding him that the brother sucking up was the one saving their asses.

"You make it hard to argue," Wrath mumbled.

Some of the Brothers nodded to their king's comment. Sohrrow was making it hard for them to punish them.

"If you are here just to hunt _lessers_, you must have a reason in doing so."

Nightmahre's body tensed.

"The enemy of our race has not been kind to us. I believe the saying is 'what comes around goes around'? The _Lessing Society _made an enemy out of us and we are simple here to take down as many as possible. I hope our actions have not intervened with your duties."

"The _lessers _are an enemy to us all. You better have a better explanation."

"My lord, we—"

"They murdered my _shellan_."

Mumbling "damn it", Sohrrow looked over to his brother who spoke. Nightmahre was the reason why they were all in Caldwell and the king just asked for a reason.

Tohr shuffled a bit on his feet, understanding the male. He, too, had lost his Wellsie and lost himself for a while. It was only until he met Autumn did he find himself.

Wrath must've sensed his friend's uneasy because his head perked a little to the side. Everyone in the room could tell unwanted memories came with what Nightmahre just said. And they could see the darkness in his eyes as he fought off those memories. Sensing the darkness, Tohr whispered something to Wrath and the king nodded his head. He then straightened up and looked at the male.

"You're just like your father."

"What does that mean?"

"He was, at the time, cold hearted. Any emotion he felt, he crushed it for he saw it as a weakness. He didn't believe in team work since he saw that relying on someone showed that you could not hold your own. Everything he did in the Brotherhood was on his own. He refused to come for anyone for help, especially when it was a fight for his life. In a way, I am seeing him right now instead of you."

Anger flashed across Nightmahre's face. Someone had just insulted his father in front of his face and was acting as if they were having a chat. The anger was so strong that Nightmahre's mind went blank. It was thanks to Ehnvy and Phride who grabbed their older brother by the arms. If they hadn't, Nightmahre would've ran across the room and murder the male who talked down about their father.

Even though the Brothers reacted to the threat, Sohrrow flipped the switch and punched Nightmahre right in the stomach. Catching him before he fell, he grabbed his brother's head and brought it to his so no one could hear them whispering.

"Night, calm down. This is exactly what they want."

"They insulted father," he growled.

"He wanted to anger you. The male wants to see what you'll do when angered. And right now, you're eating out of his hands. Remember what father taught us, Night? Especially you. Right now, they only remember what father once was. They don't know the change he made. We must honor father by showing them what he taught us."

Once Sohrrow spoke, the anger vanished.

Taking calm breaths, Nightmahre backed up and kept his composure while Sohrrow apologized again for his actions. Looking back at the Brother, Nightmahre watched the surprise slowly fade away on his face.

"I understand you knew our father?" questioned Sohrrow. Tohrment nodded. "I am sorry to say that our father had a change of heart. Of course, he trained our older brother in the way of the sword so the resemblance is uncanny. But may I speak bluntly, my lord?"

Wrath waved for the male to continue.

"Your name, if you can be so kind."

"Tohrment."

"Tohrment, you must understand what I am about to say and not take it as an offense. But you don't know shit about our father. He was the male who always cared for his family and would risk his life to protect our _mahmen_. He drilled it into us that we never abandon family and that we must sacrifice our lives if it is the only way for the rest of us to escape. Our father was a male who was always with us in a time of need and he reminded us every day that he loved us. It was his love that kept us safe for all those centuries. The Brother, Mehrcy, you so kindly remember is nothing but a fucking myth. The Mehrcy we proudly call father was a male who is ten times better the Brother any one of you will ever be. So when you think its kind to slander a person who can't even defend themselves, I highly recommend you hold your fucking tongue."

The room went silent. Ehnvy and Phride bowed their head in acknowledgment of their brother's words. Nightmahre held his head high for the male he had always looked up to. Sohrrow stared straight at Tohr with eyes intent to kill.

It was clear to the Brothers that the group of brothers standing before them was nowhere near the average civilian. They were trained to be warriors and protect those who needed protecting. Their father had trained them to be Brothers if they had to be. A former Brother taught his sons the way of the Brotherhood and they were fighting machines ready for any battle. The only thing was that were they ready to fight actual Brothers who have been fighting _lessers _their entire life?

All four held the same look in their eyes. They would fight the very group of protectors if they had to. They would fight until they were no more. Until the last brother falls, they would fight for one another and die for each other.

Making their point very clear, Wrath stood. The Brothers got to their feet as well. Sohrrow bowed and stepped back for Nightmahre to take over. He had done his part in calling a truce and understanding. Now it was the leader's turn to make the decision that would involve all of them.

"I get the feeling that you and your brothers won't stop hunting _lessers_."

"No. We won't."

"In that case, I see only one solution. You four must join the Black Dagger Brotherhood


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter Eight

Pulling into the alley and turning the truck off, Gabrielle nearly fell out of the driver's side. She smelled like baby powder and she was covered in _lesser _slime. Her legs felt like noodles and her arms almost felt like they weighed a thousand pounds each. Gabrielle surprised herself on how much training she was lacking. Every time a _lesser _hit her, the more she scolded herself for her sloppiness. She should've kept practicing to keep her edge. Now all she wanted was to go upstairs and take a long hot shower.

Entering through the back door, The Pack was almost done for the night. Sam was up in the front calling last call while everyone else was getting ready to leave. Gabrielle stopped by the kitchen first and washed off as much of black goo as she could. Grabbing a towel and wiping her face, she walked out before stopping in her tracks. Taking a quick peek at the bar, Gabrielle backed up so fast that her back hit the wall and a tremor of pain ran up her spine.

Standing at the bar with worried faces were the vampires' _shellans_. Gabrielle remembered Sam writing down in one of the reports that he gave the females a job here so he could keep an eye on them. And if his report was right, their shift ended half an hour ago. Sohrrow and his brothers should've already left with them. But here they were, sitting at the bar waiting for their _hellrens _to pick them up.

"Son of a bitch," she mumbled. She totally forgot to check out Nightmahre's brothers' futures. She had been so caught up on seeing that male's future that she failed to check up to see what was going on with the younger brothers. Now she regretted it since she was stuck in the back hallway stinking like a _lesser_.

Inching closer to the doorway, Gabrielle watched as Lhyra continued to check her watch and Ehmma passing looks at the front door. Annahbeth was sitting on one of the stools, tapping her fingers to pass the time. The females were getting antsy and it was only a matter of time before they realized something bad happened to their males.

Sam must've known something was up because he walked up to the females to see how they were doing. After they told him they were fine, he picked up a crate of dirty shot glasses and walked to the hallway Gabrielle was hiding in. He almost dropped the crate when he saw her hiding in the shadows.

"What the hell are you doing?" he hissed.

"They're still here," she hissed back.

Adjusting his grip on the crate, Sam looked over to the females. He then looked at the door as if anticipating the brothers walking in. When they didn't, he began shifting the crate in his hold.

"Did something happen?"

Before Gabrielle had time to explain what happened, the door opened and an old man in a fancy suit walked in. Whoever was left in the room stared at the geezer before returning to their last drinks. He walked up to the females and spoke to them for a second. They then grabbed their things and followed him out the door. Once they were gone, Gabrielle sighed in relief and started making her way to the stairs. She was close to the first step when Sam called her.

"Who the hell was that?"

"I think he was the _doggen _for the Brothers. Frank or something."

Sam rushed past Gabrielle to place the crate on the bar and rushed back to her. "Hold up," he whispered. "Are you saying that the _doggen _who was here a few seconds ago served the Black Dagger Brotherhood?"

"Yeah."

"Then why the hell was he in my bar!"

Seeing no other option, Gabrielle took a seat on the stairs and began explaining. She told Sam about the fight between the Brothers and brothers. She told him about Nightmahre and his brothers joining the Brotherhood and how nothing was really going to change. Then she began talking about all the _lessers _she killed tonight and told him that the numbers were more than he calculated.

After everything was said and done, Sam raked his hand through his hair and sighed real loud. Rubbing his face and pinching his nose, he looked down at his friend and sighed again. "So am I expecting to see some Brothers in my bar soon?" Gabrielle nodded. Sam grunted this time and went back to his crate. "Well, just make sure they don't start tearing this place to the ground. I worked hard to get this place started. I don't want Hollywood doing something stupid that I'll have to shoot him."

"Did you forget? He turns into a dragon-like creature whenever someone pisses him off."

"That was back then when he didn't have Mary. Now someone needs to shoot him at least four times before that happens. And I will if he breaks anything in this building."

Gabrielle laughed as Sam left the room. Finding her way to her feet, she finally found her way into the bathroom. Turing the water all the way on hot, she took off her holster and placed her guns on the sink. Removing her tomahawk and placing it next to her guns, she tripped out of her clothes until she was only wearing her dogtags and bone chocker.

Stepping into the steamy bath, she shuddered from the beating water and felt her muscles loosen up. Washing the last remains of _lesser _and cleaning her hair of the dreaded smell, Gabrielle cleaned herself and stood under the water once she was done.

She messed up on not seeing Nightmahre's brothers' futures. Something could've happened to them and she would've missed it. Seeing their _shellans _was a wakeup call and she knew she couldn't do that again. So Gabrielle made up her mind and told herself to start keeping an eye on the females. It would be easier to keep track of their movements and that means she would be able to see their _hellrens _as well.

But she would start later tonight. Right now, she got out of the shower and walked over to her duffle. Pulling out a long piece of rope, she tied both ends to the opposite sides of the room. Once it was tight, she walked back to the bathroom and threw her clothes in the still wet tub. Turning the hot water back on, Gabrielle washed her clothes old-school and hanged them on the rope to dry off. Just in case they would drip, she placed some towels under them.

Collecting her weapons and placing them on the nightstand for her to easily reach, Gabrielle slipped into her underwear and a bra before falling on the bed. She was tired beyond belief. It was only a matter of seconds before she was out for the count and snoring.

* * *

It wasn't surprising that Lhyra would slap Nightmahre in front of everyone. Sohrrow told him his _shellan _wouldn't be happy and she was beyond angry. After Fritz brought the females to the mansion, Lhyra walked up to the male and slapped him on the cheek. Now he was waiting for Annahbeth and Ehmma to do the same thing. Luckily, they were too concerned about their _hellrens _to beat him up.

In the distance, Nightmahre heard Rhage snicker. His blooded boiled before he cooled down. He needed to deal with Lhyra since she looked like she wanted to hit him again. She was close to using her other hand when Sohrrow walked up and pulled her away. He calmed her with soothing words that she only glared at Nightmahre one last time.

Seeing that he was in the clear, he walked up to Rhage who was sitting on the couch. When he stopped in front of him, the Brother looked up with a sly face. After Wrath gave the brothers no other choice but to join the Brotherhood, Nightmahre got the strange feeling that he and Hollywood wouldn't get along. Wrath made it perfectly clear that he could trust Nightmahre's brothers with Tohr vouching for them. It would just take them a bit longer to trust Nightmahre since he didn't trust them. Wrath fixed that situation by putting him with Rhage as his new patrol partner. More like parole officer to tell the king when the male was good to do his own patrols.

"What's so funny?" growled Nightmahre.

"Oh, nothing. Just enjoying a family reunion."

Next was to be expected. Rhage's cockiness got to Nightmahre that he grabbed the male by the shirt and jerked him straight to his feet. He would've thrown the first punch if Wrath hadn't entered the room. Even though he was blind, the king still looked in their direction. It was Rhage who pushed Nightmahre off and took his seat.

When all the Brothers and _shellans _were accounted for, Wrath greeted the brothers' females and introduced everyone. Sohrrow was the one doing the talking when he introduced Lhyra as his _shellan_. Ehnvy and Phride did the same by introducing Annahbeth and Ehmma. The females did a bow and greeted Wrath. With everyone on good terms with one another, Wrath told them that there were extra rooms in the mansion and that it was okay for them to stay in them.

Nightmahre watched as his brother talked with their females before graciously taking the king's offer. He, on the other hand, didn't have a choice. As long as his remaining family would be staying here, Nightmahre would stay just to make sure they were safe.

All the windows were covered in steel plate and that told everyone the sun was out. Everyone made their way to the large room for Last Meal and it almost seemed as if there hadn't been a battle early that night. Sohrrow was talking with Tohr about their father while Ehnvy and Pride quickly made conversation with Phury and Vishous. Lhyra seemed to have already made a friend with Beth because the two couldn't stop talking. Ehmma laughed when Bella said something funny and couldn't stop tickling Nalla. Annahbeth was already up to her own schemes when she took two cups and a bean and started making bets with Mary, Jane and Cormia.

While everyone was having a good time, Nightmahre felt uncomfortable. He never expected to join the Brotherhood and he was trying to remember when his family had been happy. Seeing them laughing and talking made him realize that it was his fault from keeping their happiness away. He didn't feel like he belonged at this table with these people. They all had _shellans _and young of their own. Everyone but him had a family of their own and the pain of losing Rhoslyn was sinking in on him.

Nightmahre didn't realize that the room felt like it was shrinking on him. His mind had wondered to his female and he felt another piece of him fall away. That same damn nightmare was invading his mind that it was harder to separate the nightmare from reality. The laughter around him was starting to be muffled by his own screams in his head. The joy in the room was slowly fading away towards pure anger and hatred.

Feeling himself shake, Nightmahre tried to think of anything. He needed to think of anything that would help him find reality. When nothing came to mind, the room shrunk closer that it was getting harder to breath. No one noticed the silent war raging in Nightmahre and he felt like he was going to lose it.

"Gabrielle."

Whispering that name, everything vanished and Nightmahre saw himself sitting in the room. Everything was back to normal that it was like he didn't miss anything. When Rhage laughed at something Z said, the male bumped into Nightmahre that it startled him. Nightmahre was grateful the male didn't notice him shaking.

He didn't know why he whispered the human's name. He had only seen her once and not even spoken to her. But it was the way how Nightmahre saw her that he felt himself instantly respect her. She was strong and would fight for her friends. That was the first thing Nightmahre saw in her eyes and that was enough. That human was a warrior just like the Brotherhood and Nightmahre could see she was more.

It was because of her name and thinking of her that brought him out of the sinking feeling. It was Gabrielle who just saved Nightmahre from the darkness he had felt ever since he lost Rhoslyn. The female was somehow his salvation and he couldn't get her out of his head now. Nightmahre had to meet her and find out more about her. For over a century, Nightmahre couldn't get Gabrielle out of his head and he didn't want to. He wanted to remember every single detail about her before he would talk to her. Now he would just have to figure out what to say to her tonight when he would go to The Pack.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter Nine

Nightmahre failed to get any sleep. His mind was too preoccupied that sleep was the last thing on his mind. Or anything else of the matter. The only thing he could focus on was what to say to Gabrielle. And the more he thought about it, the more stupid it felt. She was a human after all. It would be hard to just be friends considering the whole human-vampire-thing. And besides, if the _lessers _found out he was friends with a human, they would take that into account and attack her during the daylight.

However, Gabrielle was a soldier. She served in the army just like Sam and probably had training. Nightmahre had a feeling she could handle herself against the enemy. But he didn't like the idea of her fighting. What if she got hurt? What if it was his fault she died?

"Damn it," he muttered to himself.

No longer wanting to think in doubt, Nightmahre sat up and looked around. The room he was given had a huge king bed and a few shelves for books. In front of the bed was a huge flat screen TV with Bose speakers on both sides. On the other side of the room was a closet with clothes that easily fit Nightmahre. Besides the fancy tech and hunting clothes, Nightmahre didn't feel like he belonged here.

Since it was only a few hours before night, Nightmahre decided to get out of bed. Ignoring the leathers and finding a simple black shirt and pants, he changed into them stepped out into the hallway. He could hear the _doggen _downstairs preparing for First Meal and the sound of some Brothers up. Not knowing if his own brothers were up, Nightmahre took a deep breath and walked down the hallway.

It was strange seeing people walking around. Nightmahre had grown used to being alone in that abandoned factory. The sight of others walking around almost seemed taboo to him. Taking in his surroundings, he silently walked down the stairs and went down one of the hallways. If he was right, he would end up in the theater room. He had heard about the room last night when Beth was giving his brothers' _shellans _a tour.

To his surprise, he found the room. But someone was already in the room watching some sappy movie. Sitting in the front row was a male with blond hair and black strips. His body was somewhat covered in piercings and had the build of any Brother. Nightmahre's first guess was that the male was a Brother and hadn't joined them at Last Meal. Then he sensed a strange presence coming from the male. Nightmahre couldn't put his finger on it. To him, it almost felt like he was standing in a room with a holy being.

Getting tired of standing in the doorway, Nightmahre walked up to the front row where the male was yelling at the screen. Nightmahre never liked these kinds of movies that he didn't get why the woman was sobbing while the man was begging her hand in marriage. Clearing his throat, the male looked up at Nightmahre. He cocked his pierced eyebrow for a second and went back to his movie.

When the male didn't introduce himself, Nightmahre once again felt that flash of anger emerge. But he would have to control his anger now that he was here. That meant he would restrain himself from punching the pierced bastard.

"The name's Nightmahre," he started.

"Yeah, I know. You and your brothers put the beating on my amigos. Now if you don't mind, I'm waiting for her lover to come and steal her away at night. I mean, I know Selene's family wants her to marry this asshole for his money. But come on! She loves Sebastian even though he's only a store keeper. Can't the world let them be together?"

Nightmahre was officially uncomfortable. He just wanted to know the males name and instead he got the whole backstory for the damn movie. Might as well be teaching a dog to talk if it meant he wouldn't be here much longer.

Since the male was too caught up in the movie, Nightmahre decided to make his way out when he heard the movie stop. Looking over his shoulder, he saw that the screen was on pause and the male stood up to stretch. A faint ray of light glimmered over his skin before disappearing and that made Nightmahre concerned. This guy was defiantly not a Brother. That little sunshine proved it.

"Name's Lassiter by the way. And you are a screwed-up soul."

So much for that control. Nightmahre turned on his heels and walked up to the one named Lassiter. They were nearly the same height that Nightmahre didn't have to look up or down to stare the bastard in the eye.

"What did you say?"

"You heard me. You're a screwed-up soul that needs to be put out of his misery. Unless you find your way in life, you're going to be stuck in a timeless loop. I might suggest forgetting the past and moving on."

Nightmahre threw the first punch. It connected perfectly against Lassiter's face and his head snapped back. But when he looked at the male, the bruise that had bloomed over his check started to fade away. Nightmahre took a step back, prepared to fight whatever Lassiter was when he moved his jaw around and sat on one of the couches.

Touching his cheek, Lassiter snickered. He then looked at Nightmahre. His steel eyes almost seemed to see right through Nightmahre because he felt like he was being examined. When Lassiter looked away, Nightmahre dropped his guard.

"You're not the only one to lose someone you love. Make peace with the fact and move on. Besides, I can see you already have a female on your mind. Go see if she can help you with your problems."

Nightmahre's body tensed.

"What are you talking about?"

"You are so damn stupid." Lassiter released a sigh of annoyance and leaned back in the chair. He leaned back so far his ass plumped down on the cushion and his legs hanged over the arm. "First, I get Tohr out of his misery and now here I am in the same room with another idiot. Do you know how long I worked to get him from acting like a dick to being the male you saw last night? If I'm going to be playing councilor, I should get paid."

"You do know you're making no sense whatsoever."

"Well, I don't think I would expect you to. But how about I explain what I am and why I can see your suffering. I'm a fallen angel who was sent to help Tohrment find his place on this plane and allow his _shellan _and unborn son to pass into the Fade. Now he's with Autumn and they're happy. You can ask them later if you want. I'm not lying."

For some strange reason, Nightmahre didn't need to ask the Brother. He already figured the male wasn't human. An angel slightly made sense. Nightmahre just thought angels were people with wings and robes. Seeing Lassiter the way he was kind of made it easier for Nightmahre to talk to him. He did look like one of the Brothers. Might as well try to start a bond with someone.

Figuring he still had time before patrolling began, Nightmahre took a seat in one of the chairs and looked at the angel.

"So what's this about me? Can you really see?"

"Sort of. You have the pained look in your eyes just like every male who lost someone they love. I lived with Tohr long enough to spot the look a mile away. But I'll applause you for keeping it hidden from your brothers. You've kept the pain in you for so long that it's slowly taking over. And I can see that it's killing you in a way."

Lassiter was good. All Nightmahre could do was nod his head.

"I can also see when the pain is being avoided. You found something to push it away. And the only reason is that you found something of interest. No doubt that it's a female."

This part was going to be interesting. "She is," answered Nightmahre. "But she's not a vampire. She's human."

"Fuck. Sorry, man. But I can't help you on that one. If she was vampire, I could work my magic and see if I can woo her into coming her. But you're going to have to work that one if she's human. However, I'm curious. What kind of human is she?"

Time was up. Nightmahre didn't want to talk about this. Especially when he didn't know much about Gabrielle. He would have to wait for a few hours before he put his half-assed plan in work. All he needed to do was wait for Sohrrow and his brothers pick up their _shellans _from The Pack and be there to see Gabrielle.

Figuring it was time to get ready, Nightmahre got up from his seat and walked out. He heard Lassiter shout in frustration and the movie was set back on play. Walking into the main hallway, everyone was now awake and heading for the giant room for First Meal. Watching everyone walk in, Nightmahre stayed back and waited. When he saw Lhyra walk down the stairs without her _hellren_, Nightmahre called her aside and they walked over to the side so no one could hear them.

Once they were alone, Lhyra was starting to apologize for slapping him when he said it was okay. Getting it over her shoulders, she then asked Nightmahre what was up. That's where his tongue turned to lead. Lhyra must've picked up on the situation because she asked him who the girl was.

"Are you sure you don't know anything about Gabrielle Seeing Bird?"

Lhyra's eyebrows shot up that they disappeared behind her bangs. All Nightmahre could do was push back his hair since he didn't have it tied. When his sister-in-law wasn't saying anything, he was about to tell her to forget it when she smiled. It had been a while since Nightmahre blushed. Now he couldn't stop his face from turning red.

"Sorry. Not much. All I know is what Ehmma told us. But she leaves when the bar opens and doesn't come back until it's close to closing hours. If you're lucky, I'm sure she'll be around when we're getting ready to leave."

"Alright. But can you do me a favor and not tell anyone?"

"My lips are sealed. Just don't make a fool of yourself. You've been out of the game for a while. If you want my advice, take things slow. Gabrielle doesn't look like the woman who'll take shit from anyone."

Nightmahre thanked Lhyra and they both walked into the room. She took her seat by Sohrrow and Nightmahre took his at the end of the table. No one noticed his distance and he didn't mind. Right now he was thinking of ways not to overdo it when he met Gabrielle. And Lhyra's words were no going through his head. Gabrielle so didn't look like the woman you wanted to mess with. That just made things more of a challenge. And Nightmahre didn't mind a challenge. In fact, he welcomed it.


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter Ten

Since Gabrielle wanted a night to herself, she got up in the middle of the afternoon and went hunting for some _lessers_. It was a risky move attacking the enemy during the day since they knew vampires couldn't bet outside or they'd be fried alive. But she spent an hour lighting some sage and seeing the future. She even wrote down the attacks on a pad in case she forgot anything. Leaving Sam a voicemail on his phone, Gabrielle was out and about on the streets doing some hunting.

It was barely night when she torched a dumpster of _lesser _remains. From two in the afternoon to eight, Gabrielle had been killing _lessers_. She figured the more she killed, the less of the enemy the Brotherhood would have to deal with. Besides, they had Nightmahre and his brothers to train in a way. Gabrielle couldn't wait to see their future. Just thinking about what might happened made her skin crawl of anticipation.

Stretching her arms and feeling them ache, it was time to throw in the towel. With all the killing and future seeing, Gabrielle could feel it starting to weigh down on her. She had seen at least sixteen futures and that was more than she did back in the day. The toll would come eventually and that meant she would have to sleep for a full day since her body would be used up. So she would have to wait on Nightmahre and his brothers.

Hopping in the truck and heading to The Pack, the only thing that stopped her were the lights and the occasional idiots that cut in front of her. Besides that, she was back at the bar around nine. Hauling her ass out of the truck, she made her way through the back door and danced around the waitresses taking the food to the guests. Stopping at the doorway and checking the bar, Gabrielle spotted Lhyra and Annahbeth making drinks for customers while Ehmma rushed to the back to help them after serving someone. Tonight was a packed night and they needed hands on deck.

An idea popped up in her head and Gabrielle rushed up the steps. Taking a freezing shower and washing off as much _lesser _as possible, she quickly dried herself and wrapped her hair in the towel. Dumping her duffle full of clothes on her bed, Gabrielle decided to wear a red tank top and tight blue jeans. Fitting the top over her wrapped hair and slipping in the jeans, she tossed on her black sleeveless hoodie and tossed the towel. Running her brush a couple of times, her hair was finally straight and dry that she took a few clips and clipped her hair up. To finish her look, she left her boots on the floor and thanked God that she brought the only pair of laced high heels she bot from Payless.

Leaving her tags and chocker in place, Gabrielle was out the door and down the stairs in five seconds flat. More customers were coming in and the live band was performing. The waiters and waitresses had their hands full that Gabrielle saw Sam helping out just a bit. Waving her hand above the crowd, she caught Sam waving back at her. She then pointed to the bar and he gave her a thumbs up.

Shoving past the people and finding her way to the bar, she opened the latch and walked in the back. The females stopped what they were doing and looked back at her. Then Ehmma was focused on a customer who was demanding where his drink was. Hearing he wanted two lowballs, Gabrielle was already making it when Ehmma turned around.

"What are you doing?"

"Just helping a group of fellow women fight this crowd off. Sam gave me permission to help out."

Making two perfect drinks proved herself to the females. Ehmma handed the customer his drinks and helped the next one. Gabrielle got in the groove when the Lhyra and Annahbeth started giving her the orders. Everything was going so fast that Gabrielle didn't notice that time was ticking by. The ladies were holding down the fort until it was well pass two and they didn't notice. All they could focus on were the customers and their drinks.

* * *

Nightmahre was on patrol somewhere in Caldwell. He scanned the city like a hawk and stayed in the shadows. All night long there was no _lesser _activity. It was so quiet that Nightmahre had to keep himself busy by thinking of random stuff. But it was hard when someone was making annoying sounds. Standing right behind him like he had all the time in the world was Rhage. Just like his usual self, he was sucking on one of his pops. But he was sucking it real loud to see what the male would do.

"Stop that," growled Nightmahre.

"Not a chance," grinned Rhage. He sucked the pop louder. "And don't think of anything funny. Unlike you're brothers, your still on parole."

"Just shut the fuck up."

But the Brother loved reminding him that he was being watched. What annoyed him the most was that he found out that Rhage could turn into a dragon-like beast if he wanted to. In a way, that was Rhage's way of telling Nightmahre who was in charge. That meant he defiantly had to watch his temper with the Brother. The taunting smile and loud sounds of sucking his pop was an invite for a fight. But Nightmahre wouldn't give into the Brother's taunts no matter what.

Checking his phone to see that there was only two hours left before sunrise, Nightmahre stuffed the phone in his jacket and walked out of the alley.

"Where you going?"

"The Pack. Sohrrow and the others should be picking up their shellans. I'll be back at the mansion after they leave."

Rhage just waved him off since he knew about his brothers' females. Seeing that the Brother was getting ready to head out, Nightmahre dematerialized to meet up with his brothers. He was across the street when his brothers appeared. But they weren't alone. It seemed that John, Qhuinn, Blay, V and Phury tagged along. When Nightmahre raised an eyebrow, Sohrrow raised his hands and laughed.

"Easy, Night. The guys said they wanted to check out Sam's place."

"So that's The Pack," spoke Qhuinn. "Doesn't look much. Just looks like any ordinary bar."

"But they got great food and awesome drinks," argued Phride.

"Then let's put The Pack to the test."

The males crossed the street and entered the club. Even though it was close to closing time, there was still a crowd of people. Nightmahre saw Sam helping his people by serving food and rushing to the next table. The band was playing and they didn't look tired the least. All the tables were full and the bar was packed. While the Brothers were checking out the place, Sohrrow led the group to the bar. It was easy for them to walk past the humans since all they had to do was walk and they were be shoved out the way.

But when Nightmahre was about to walk up, he saw someone helping out the females. He just couldn't believe that it was Gabrielle who walked in the back with fresh glasses. Nightmahre's brothers were surprised to when their _shellans _were letting her help with the orders.

When one man was hollering at them for his order, Ehnvy and Phride walked right up to the man and turned him around. His face paled instantly and he would've shitted in his pants if it wasn't for Ehnvy who told him to take a hike. After the man left, Phride basically told everyone bar's closed and they left. The brother was giving off a deadly look that no one wanted to know what would happen if they challenged him.

Vishous and Phury joined the brothers when Ehmma thanked her _hellren_. Lhyra and Annahbeth showed their thanks and started cleaning up. As for Gabrielle, she was stacking glasses in a crate so she could take them to the kitchen. Not once did she turn around to see why the customers left. Nightmahre thought that she was thinking they were given a break and she was taking full advantage.

When she did turn, her eyes locked on the huge males and looked back at the females. Shuffling the crate in her arms, a smile found its way on her lips and Nightmahre couldn't look away.

"I'm guessing three of you are the lucky guys?"

Sohrrow, Ehnvy and Phride raised their hands. Taking two steps and placing the crate on her shoulder like it weighed nothing, Gabrielle stuck out her hand. "Nice to meet you. The name's Gabrielle if you're wondering."

"We know," answered Sohrrow. He pointed to the picture on the wall. John, Qhuinn and Blay had joined them in time to notice the picture. "I can see you're a friend of Sam's. Same unit?"

"Yeah. We served together. The guy's like a brother to me. As for your girls here, I saw they needed some help. That's okay with y'all?"

"Don't answer," interrupted Annahbeth. "They weren't here during rush hour so they don't deserve to answer. And besides, they would be dropping everything if they did come and helped."

A snicker came from V. All the brothers could do was laugh since they knew it was true. As for Nightmahre, he stayed silent in the back. Gabrielle had looked at everyone but him. He knew he wasn't standing far in the back. He was a bit taller than his brothers that she should've noticed him. But she just laughed at Annahbeth's comment and took the crate to the kitchen. As he watched her leave, his heart sunk.

His chance to talk to her went right out the window.

While the Brothers were talking about the club, Sam hollered out last call and people started walking up to the front with their checks. With the room clearing, the Brothers made themselves comfortable at the bar as the ladies were cleaning up. Nightmahre took his seat at the end of the bar and stared at the room. For once in his life, he was mopping. He just made sure his brothers were busy helping their _shellans _to notice.

Hearing Gabrielle returning from the kitchen, Nightmahre didn't bother looking over his shoulder. If she didn't see him when he was standing right in front of her, she wouldn't even notice him sitting in his corner.

Since the bar was almost empty, Sam said something to the cashier and walked up to the group of vampires. Telling the females they did a good job, his eyes wondered over to the Brothers. It wasn't Nightmahre who picked up something in his eyes. Vishous stood up and looked at Sam. Eyes of a soldier scanned the Brother before Sam made a remark and Qhuinn burst out laughing. That didn't mean V stopped looking at the human. Even Phury kept an eye on him. Something about the human was weird and it was giving Nightmahre and the others the creeps.

"What's with the suspicious look?"

Her voice startled Nightmahre that he nearly knocked over his seat. Standing right behind him was Gabrielle. She had a rag in her hand and was wiping down the counter. She must've removed her clips because her hair was flowing over her shoulders in waves. The way how her hair curved around her breasts and rested against her face made Nightmahre want to move it aside. But he kept his hands to his side.

When he didn't answer her, Gabrielle shrugged and bent down. Nightmahre caught a glimpse of her ass in those tight jeans and swallowed hard. Coming back up with two garbage bags, she moved to the latch and made her way to the doorway that led outside. Before making it to the doorway, she looked back at Nightmahre who was still staring at her.

"Do you mind giving me a hand?"

She didn't have to ask him twice. Nightmahre left the group and opened the door for her. Giving her some room to maneuver, Gabrielle walked over to the dumpster and tossed the bags. Turning around, she told him he could close the door. Doing as he said, he raised his hand and the door closed. When he looked back at Gabrielle, she walked up to him and backed up to the wall.

She released a huge sigh and racked her hand through her hair. Not wanting to make things awkward, Nightmahre stood next to her and placed his back against the wall as well. For a while, they stood their side-by-side looking up at the stars. Even though they weren't speaking to each other, Nightmahre liked the fact they were close to each other. He liked the fact that he was only an inch away from Gabrielle. But he hated that he couldn't bridge the gap. He feared that if he did, he wouldn't be able to hold back the beast inside him that wanted her.

And he really wanted her.

* * *

Sensing he wanted to be alone, Gabrielle managed to lure Nightmahre in the alley. Now that they were away from the Brothers, Gabrielle took the first breath of relieve. All night long she and the females had been taking order after order. Things were getting hectic closer to last call when she saw Ehnvy and Phride scare everyone off. She was slightly surprised to see Vishous, Phury, John, Qhuinn and Blaylock. But when she saw them with the brothers, she easily shrugged them off.

It was Nightmahre who peeked her interest since it almost looked like he wanted her to notice him. When she walked off to take the crate, she watched him slump in the barstool and kept away from the group. The male had officially caught her attention that she lied in needing his help. But Nightmahre eagerly helped her with the door and here they were outside alone. Even though she was playing nice, she kind of wanted to know more about Nightmahre. Seeing the future would be like cheating and Gabrielle wanted to hear what the male wanted to say.

"So," she started, "I didn't get your name in there."

She watched Nightmahre's golden eyes look down at her. Gabrielle was tall, but Nightmahre had another five or so inches on her. So when he looked down at her, a quiver of heat ran down her body that a gasp escaped her lips.

"Nightmahre. But my brothers call me Night for short."

"Nightmahre? That's a strange name. But I'm not the one to judge. My last name is Seeing Bird after all."

"I'm sure that's a mouthful."

"Nah. Sam and the guys used to call my Bird. They stopped when they saw I didn't like it. And besides, I was always armed with a gun."

A laugh came from the male and he couldn't stop. Watching him laugh, Gabrielle couldn't help herself and laughed alongside him. It had been a while she laughed like this and she relished in the moment.

When they both stopped, Nightmahre looked at her and had to look away when he giggled. Almost forgetting he was a vampire, Gabrielle punched him in the shoulder and stifled her own laughs. She was having a hard time believing this was the vampire she saw acting like a robot. He was an easy guy to talk to and had a sense of humor. She liked this Nightmahre. Gabrielle really like the Nightmahre she was talking to.

To change the subject, Gabrielle played the part of a human and decided to ask him things a regular person would ask.

"Are you a bodyguard or something? Because you and your bodies look like you could take down an army."

"You could say something like that," he smirked. "In a way, you could say that we do what you and Sam used to do."

"You're soldiers?"

"In a way, we are. We have people who need to be protected and that's our job. Well, it's my brothers and my first day on the job. The lucky guys how you put it. The others have been doing it way longer."

"Ah, the whole initiation bullshit. Tell me, are they going to make you do something stupid? Because if they are, I'll keep my mouth shut from giving them ideas."

Another hysterical laugh erupted from Nightmahre and this time he had to bend down since he was laughing so hard. When he came back up for air, he looked at Gabrielle and rolled his eyes with one last laugh. But when he moved around, Gabrielle caught a glimpse of something poking out of his trench coat. Nightmahre's smile faded when he looked down at his waist to see his sword.

Pretending that she didn't see it, Nightmahre closed his jacket and looked the other way. Sensing the good mood was heading south, Gabrielle made sure the male saw she didn't care. To show him, she shrugged her shoulders and waved her hands. When he looked at her, Gabrielle crossed her heart with a finger and pressed that finger against her lips.

"I didn't see anything."

When she removed her finger, she slightly regretted not seeing the future. If she did, she would've been prepared for what happened next.

Nightmahre wrapped an arm around Gabrielle's waist and pulled her up to him. The next thing she felt were his lips on her. Her body stilled in complete shock. Nightmahre was kissing her and she was kissing him back.

When he released her from his hold, he was about to say something when she grabbed his head with her hands and brought him back down on her. They were through talking. The little chat they just had was long in the past and they were living in the present.

Nightmahre's tongue pierced through Gabrielle's lips and touched her own tongue. Tasting him in her mouth made Gabrielle groan in pleasure. She moved her hands from his head and wrapped them around his neck, bridging whatever gap was between them. His hands cupped her ass and brought her up. Out of instinct, Gabrielle wrapped her legs around his waist and he pushed her against the wall. Nightmahre released her lips and removed her chocker from her neck. He started kissing her on her neck that another moan escaped her lips. She could feel his cock in his pants harden against her that her whole body trembled. He must've felt her because he brought his lips back to hers and heat exploded through her body.

Something ran through Gabrielle and she wanted to stay like this forever. Be in Nightmahre's arms was the only thing she longed for and she didn't want it to end. She wanted Nightmahre and no one else. She had been sent here to watch over him. Now Gabrielle wanted more. She no longer wanted to just watch over him. She wanted to be inside him. And Gabrielle felt Nightmahre wanting her as well. They both wanted to be in each other. The way how he kissed her and the way she returned his kisses proved it.

She wanted him. And he wanted her.


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter Eleven

Nightmahre couldn't get enough of Gabrielle. A simple taste was not enough for him. He wanted more of her and he could feel she wanted more of him. With her pressed against him, Nightmahre felt her breasts rub against his chest that a growl radiated from his throat. Still holding her chocker, Nightmahre shoved it in one of his pockets and found his way under her shirt. Touching her bra and cupping her breast, he listened as a moan came from Gabrielle. Her arms and legs tightened her hold on him and he pushed harder against her.

Barely able to control himself, Nightmahre felt his fangs extend that he feared Gabrielle would notice. When she didn't, he deepened their kiss. From her taste to her touch, Nightmahre forgot everything that was happening and all he could focus on was Gabrielle. He wanted to take her. He wanted to take her so bad that another growl came from his throat.

"Ahem."

Reality snapped back and Nightmahre almost dropped Gabrielle. They both looked to see V and Sohrrow standing with the door wide open. Gabrielle pulled her tank back down and brushed her hair back. Nightmahre looked away for a second to gain composure. When he looked at the male and his brother, he could see the complete shock in Sohrrow's eyes. Nightmahre could tell if the shock was from seeing his brother with another woman or seeing him with a human woman. All that mattered was that they were caught together outside.

When no one moved, Gabrielle mumbled something and walked straight for the door. V stood aside and she walked right past him. Once she was gone, Nightmahre followed and shoved the Brother aside. Everyone inside was getting ready to leave and Sam was in his office shutting down the computers. When they saw Nightmahre almost rushing inside, Ehnvy and Phride looked at Sohrrow for help and the male just shook his head.

Nightmahre didn't wait for the others to get ready. He just dematerialized and appeared in the mansion. Making his way up the giant staircase, he was almost to the top when the others appeared. Sohrrow had called his name and jogged up the steps to meet his brother. The others went their own way since Last Meal was being prepared.

Once Sohrrow was next to his brother, Nightmahre ignored him and took off to his room. Hearing Sohrrow following, they both stayed silent until they were in front of Nightmahre's room. Grabbing the knob and unable to twist it, the male stood there in the hallway with his brother behind him. He then watched as Sohrrow placed his hand on his and removed it from the knob. Turning him around, Nightmahre was now facing his brother.

"What?" he growled.

Sohrrow raised his shoulders. "Nothing. I was just wondering what was taking you so long outside that I went to check on you. I didn't know you were playing the moves on the human."

Nightmahre growled.

"It was nothing."

"Sure as hell didn't seem like nothing. I've never seen you like that since Rhoslyn passed and it almost looked like you wanted to take things up a notch."

"It was nothing."

"What about Gabrielle?"

Tension rode through Nightmahre. The moment his brother mentioned her name, his body went of the offensive that his arm twitched above his sword. Sohrrow must've got the point because his hand hovered over his new black dagger. When nothing happened, he dropped his hand and leaned against the opposite wall.

When his brother didn't make a move, Nightmahre did the same thing and rested against his side. The brothers stayed quiet in the hallway. The only thing they heard downstairs were the Brothers making jokes as they headed for Last Meal. It was Sohrrow who grunted and pushed himself off the wall. He waited for his brother to do the same thing. Nightmahre stayed put for a second and then waved Sohrrow to go on ahead.

Watching his brother leave, Nightmahre was now alone in the hallway. Finding his strength, he turned around and opened the door. Closing it behind him and standing in room, Nightmahre took off his coat when he felt something in the pocket. Flipping the coat around and reaching into the pocket, Nightmahre cursed when he pulled out the chocker he took from Gabrielle.

Not knowing what to do with it, he walked over to his bed and sat on the edge. Dancing his fingers around the bones, Nightmahre thought of what happened. He was a fool to do that to Gabrielle. They didn't know each other and he acted like he wanted to have sex with her right there. He could feel that she wanted the same thing as well and that was what frightened him. The human was invading his head that she was slowly becoming the only thing he could think about.

Falling to his back, Nightmahre brought the choker above him and stared at it. Her scent was all over it that he brought it to his nose and inhaled. Gabrielle must've worn this all the time because he could smell a cool breeze that belonged to the mountains. Scents of different flowers radiated from the necklace and one scent stood out the most. The smell was so intoxicating that a low growl came from Nightmahre. He didn't know what the smell was but it was both calming and strong. Nightmahre's body shook from the smell that he continued to breath in the scent.

It was so strong that it wasn't long before Nightmahre found himself stroking his cock for it had gone hard. The urge to release was so strong that he moaned out. Lowering the chocker, Nightmahre closed his eyes and tried to think of something. His mind instantly latched onto the image of his Rhoslyn. Even though the thought of her was like a dagger slowly killing him, he wanted to see his beautiful _shellan_. But when he was in the dream, he watched as Rhoslyn turned away from him and faded away. Taking her spot were mountains he never saw before. There were mountains that looked like they belonged to a desert. Few trees rested on the mountains while there were just miles of land all around.

Nightmahre didn't know what he was seeing. He searched for Rhoslyn until there was someone else riding in front of him. Dismounting a horse from what looked like a long journey, a woman faced the mountains that she wasn't facing the male. When Nightmahre demanded who she was, the woman didn't turn around. Her hair was tied in a low ponytail that her black hair swayed in the wind. The woman was wearing jeans and boots made for the winter. What was interesting was the brown jacket the woman was wearing. There were beads on the sleeves and around the back. From the looks of it, the jacket was old but still had a purpose. The wind blew and the woman's hair flew in its direction. That's when he saw a silver chain under a buffalo chocker on the woman's neck.

Tightening his hold on the same chocker, Nightmahre swallowed hard.

"Gabrielle."

The woman finally turned around. Gabrielle, the soldier, a woman of the Cheyenne, a person of a once free tribe, turned to face Nightmahre. There was such warmth in her eyes that the cool air failed to touch her. She looked so at home near these mountains that Nightmahre realized this had to be her home. Even though he had never looked up anything relative to Wyoming, he knew that this place was Gabrielle's birth place. He was seeing her for who she really was.

Leaving the horse, the sound of Gabrielle's boots crunched under the dirt and rocks. Standing right in front of him, she threw her arms around his neck and hugged him. That's when Nightmahre didn't know if this was really a dream. He could feel the warmth coming off of her body that he wrapped his own arms around her. Touching her body made the dream so real that he breathed in her scent and smelled everything he smelled on the chocker.

"Nightmahre," she whispered.

Her words shattered the dream. Nightmahre bolted up in a sitting position, breathing real hard. His hand was so tight on the chocker that it had cut his palm. Unable to sit still, he almost ran to the bathroom and splashed cold water over his face. Grabbing a towel and wiping away some water, he stared at himself in the mirror.

What was happening to him?


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter Twelve

It had only been an hour since the Brothers left and Sam was getting ready to lock up the place when he saw Gabrielle pouring herself some whiskey. He looked at the door for a second before walking up to his friend and reaching for a cup. Holding it out, she poured him some of the drink and they raised their drinks. Finishing it in one gulp, Gabrielle poured herself some more.

She had been a complete idiot. All she did was want to talk to Nightmahre and she did talk to him. Then she acted like a horny bitch and basically straddled the male. He didn't stop her. He actually wanted some of her that she felt something pressing against her hips. She was ready to take him right then and there if it wasn't for Vishous and Sohrrow. Once they were caught, Gabrielle felt so ashamed of herself that she left. So now she was drinking away her sorrows. She might need another bottle since she was almost done with this one.

"Are you going to tell me what happened?" Sam asked.

She tossed back the whiskey and filled up the little shot glass. "I think I need to head back home," she answered.

"But you've only been here a couple of days. You can't just leave."

"If I don't, I think I'm going to fuck Nightmahre."

There! She finally said it. She thought she was going to throw everything away and get in the male's bed. And she was sure as hell he wouldn't stop her. He gave her the invitation sixty minutes ago.

Sam's mouth dropped. He quickly picked it back up and poured himself some more whiskey. Making his own cheers, he tossed the drink back and shook his head. When he looked at Gabrielle, he tried to say something and stopped. He didn't know what to say. He had brought his friend back to the city to help with the _lesser _problem and to keep an eye on the brothers. She was doing a good job on the first part and an excellent job on the second. Nightmahre and his brothers were no longer in danger of getting caught by the Brotherhood since now they were a part of the Brotherhood and the number in _lessers _was going down. In fact, Gabrielle did her job and there was nothing for her to stay.

A sharp thud brought Sam out of deep thought and he looked at Gabrielle. She looked mighty pissed. Her hands flew straight to her neck and rubbed bare skin. That's when it clicked. Gabrielle's buffalo chocker was missing. Then he remembered the long trip she took in the back to throw away the garbage.

"Did you do it?"

"No! But…I think I wanted to. Damn it! The asshole has my chocker and I might not get to see him again."

"Well, if you want to leave, you won't. But if you stay, you might. Turns out that the Brothers want to try out The Pack that V generously paid for a private night. The Brotherhood will be here the tomorrow night and everyone's coming. So if you want your chocker back, best stay put until then."

Gabrielle flipped her finger at him and he laughed. Telling her to clean up her mess when she was done, Sam waved goodbye to her and locked up the front door. Finishing her last drink, Gabrielle threw away the bottle and washed the cups. Turning off the lights, she headed up the stairs to her dark room.

Turning on the lamp, she headed for the shower and took a long hot bath. When she was done, she dried off and dressed in her usual nightwear. Jumping on the bed and snuggling under the covers, Gabrielle waited for sleep to take her. When it didn't, she threw the covers away and sat up. Her body was too high on energy that it was going to take her a while to get some sleep. And since she had so many visions earlier, she figured having one more little vision would do just the job.

Crawling over to her duffle and taking out the little box filled with sage she took out a stem and lit it on fire. Doing the same ritual, Gabrielle waved the smoke towards her to cleanse her body. Feeling her body clean of any darkness, Gabrielle closed her eyes and thought of something to see. She really didn't care what in particular. But since she couldn't get Nightmahre out of her head, she figured he was the best choice. She didn't pick a specific date since she knew he would be doing the same thing. With that in mind, she looked into Nightmahre's future.

* * *

_All the lights were turned off. In the distance was the faint sound of voices but they were so faint that they faded away in the walls. The room was covered in complete darkness that it was hard to see anything. But that wasn't the important thing. What was important was what Nightmahre had just done._

_Pushing himself up, he looked down at the person under him. Completely naked for his taking, Nightmahre used one had to wipe a strand of black hair from Gabrielle's face. In doing so, she brought her hand up and touched his. The sudden touch sent a tremor throughout his body. Another tremor when through him when Gabrielle leaned up to kiss him on the lips. Her touch was so electrifying that he released a growl. The familiar scent of dark spices was in the air and it was all over Gabrielle._

_Not releasing her lips, Nightmahre pushed her back down on his bed and slid right into her. It was her who released him to let out a moan. Hearing her making a sound of pleasure made him thrust again. She called out his name and wrapped her arms around his neck. The sound of her voice calling his name made Nightmahre thrust one more time. Gabrielle was his and no one else's. She was his and would always be his._

_"Enkoodabooaoo," she cried out._

_There was that name again. Ever since she started working with him, she had always called Nightmahre by that name. He asked her multiple times what it meant only to have her walk off. Now she was here with him and he didn't mind her calling him Enkoodabooaoo. Gabrielle had a way in making the name sound so lovely. And right now, he wanted to hear her call his name._

_Grabbing her legs and bringing them to his waist, she instantly wrapped them as he grabbed her by the back. The only sound Nightmahre heard was Gabrielle call out to him every time he thrust into her. He would never let her go. She would be his forever or as long as time would allow it. And right now, she was his female and he would kill anyone who would touch her._

* * *

A gasp came from Gabrielle. That was not the future she was used to seeing. Something had changed that she ended up in Nightmahre's bed. What happened to him not giving a damn about his life? What happened about him going through the routine until he died? Did Gabrielle accidently change Nightmahre's future?

Her mind instantly remembered the moment in the alley. It was crystal clear that Nightmahre was attracted to her. And yes, she kind of had interest towards the male. But she wasn't going to sleep with him. That was one future she was going to change no matter what. She would stay long enough to get her chocker back and be on the next flight back to Wyoming. All she had to do was wait for Nightmahre to show up and take what belonged to her.

Making up her mind, she put away her box of sage and found her way under the covers. The creepy vision she just had was working and sleep was right around the corner. But before it claimed her, Gabrielle thought of the vision. That was the first time she ever saw Nightmahre happy. He was showing emotions that she didn't think he was capable of. From the previous visions, he was just an empty shell trying to die. He never showed interest in what his brothers or the Brotherhood was doing. He just stayed out of the way and was ready for battle.

Touching her lips, Gabrielle continued to think about the vision. Maybe it was just fate that she would be with Nightmahre. She liked the one she met an only an hour ago. In fact, she desperately wished she could see the past. She wanted to see what troubled the male so she could fix it. But after seeing the future, maybe it was Gabrielle herself who could fix Nightmahre. Maybe it was only a matter of time before she returned to Caldwell. If it wasn't Sam who called her, Gabrielle had the strange feeling Nightmahre would've brought her back anyways.

Letting sleep take over, Gabrielle made up her mind. She'd stay a bit longer to see how things turned out before jumping ship. Especially if that future would come true.


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter Thirteen

"How long has he been in there?"

"All day."

"As in, he's been in there since we got back from The Pack?"

"Don't ask me. I'm the youngest of the group."

Sohrrow quirked his eyebrow when he saw Ehnvy and Phride standing in front of the doors that led to the gym. It had been decades or so when he saw his little brothers muttering like children. They were so busy muttering to themselves that they didn't hear Sohrrow approach until he cleared his throat. Phride jumped from the sound and Ehnvy almost wen though the doors.

"You know, I would ask what you guys were doing. But after years of experience, I've learned not to."

Ehnvy and Phride looked up to recall some memories and nodded in agreement. But when they didn't leave, Sohrrow broke down and asked why they were hiding in the shadows. Ehnvy told his brother that Nightmahre had been in the gym laying waste to the punching bags since they got back from the bar.

For a second, Sohrrow didn't believe his brothers. But when he heard a chain breaking and something hard hitting the ground, he figured his brothers were right. Walking past them and easing the door open, he watched as Nightmahre hook up another punching bag since the other one had stuffing falling out. Watching his brother beating the shit out of the bag, Sohrrow backed up and faced his younger brothers.

Closing his eyes and pointing for them to get out, Ehnvy and Phride did as they were told and left. Sohrrow didn't need a crowd watching for what he was about to do. Pinching his eyes and rubbing them, he took a deep breath and stepped inside. Not once did Nightmahre turn around to see who entered the gym. He continued to throw punches and kicks so hard that sand was starting to fall out of the bag.

"What the hell did the bag ever do to you, Night?"

Nightmahre grunted and threw a spinning-hill kick. The bag flew high in the air that the chain creaked from exhaustion. Showing the bag no mercy, Nightmahre threw everything at the bag that Sohrrow stepped behind his brother when the bag when flying towards the wall. Now that the chain was dangling in the air, Sohrrow stopped Nightmahre from grabbing another punching bag.

Instead, Sohrrow shouldered him and walked over to the mats. Removing his shirt and bringing up his fists, he waited for Nightmahre to follow. The male stood still for a while before walking over to the mats. Sohrrow took note that his brother obediently followed him over to the mats. His brother's head wasn't in the game and the male took that as a slight advantage. He was going to need every advantage if he was going to beat his brother.

Tossing his shirt aside and flipping his ponytail over his shoulder, Nightmahre brought up his arms. The brothers walked up to the cent and bumped their fists. Once they pulled back, Nightmahre threw a high roundhouse kick at his brother's head. Bringing his hands to block, Sohrrow caught his brother's leg and locked his hands around the calf. Twisting and dropping like a boulder, Sohrrow knocked Nightmahre down and twisted his leg. Hearing his brother roar in pain struck him hard but he couldn't let go. He had to hold on as long as possible until Nightmahre threw the match.

But while he was in pain, Nightmahre lunged up and threw a punch at Sohrrow. Unable to block this time, the punch hit him right in the face. Forced to release Nightmahre's leg, Sohrrow jumped back when something hard hit him square in the chest. Nightmahre had tackled his brother and fastened his grip around the male's waist. Using all his strength, Nightmahre lifted Sohrrow straight in the air and leaned back. If Sohrrow hadn't brought his arms to protect his head, he would've broken his neck when he landed head first on the mats.

Still bent over, Nightmahre released his brother and back-flipped over his body. Seeing Sohrrow slightly dazed, Nightmahre went down and locked his legs around Sohrrow's throat. Bringing one arm to protect himself and using the other one to punch, Nightmahre caught his brother's punch and had him in a perfect headlock.

Air was creeping out of Sohrrow that red was filling his vision. Struggling under his brother's grip, he realized that he miscalculated Nightmahre. Now he understood why his head wasn't in it and why he was destroying those bags. He wasn't pissed or upset. He was fucking angry and he just found someone to make a martyr. Sohrrow was in way over his head on this one and he was about to lose it.

"What the fuck is going on?"

Both their heads snapped up to see the Brotherhood watching them fight. All of a sudden, Sohrrow felt a small moment of slack and took it. Using his legs for support, he jumped up and twisted his body around, freeing himself from his brother's hold. Nightmahre was caught off guard and that was all Sohrrow needed. Shoving his knee right into his brother's chest, he watched him fly up a few inches and wrapped his arms around his brother's neck. Using his weight for momentum, he flipped Nightmahre to the side and jumped on his back. Catching an elbow that would've knocked him off, Sohrrow twisted Nightmahre's arm and planted his knee right at the center of his spine.

Nightmahre was at Sohrrow's mercy. If Sohrrow wanted to, he could break his brother's arm like a twig and damage his back. If Nightmahre rolled over, Sohrrow would still break his arm and strike him in the neck for a clean kill shot. Because of the Brothers' interference, Sohrrow won the match.

Seeing no other way, Nightmahre slapped the mat and Sohrrow released him. Both of the brothers stepped aside to give the other one some space. Rotating his arm around and feeling no injury, Sohrrow was about to say something to Nightmahre when a solid punch hit him square in the jaw. The punch was so strong that it knocked him off his feet and sent him flying across the mat. Tasting blood in his mouth, Sohrrow looked up to see his brother standing still with his fist in the air.

Hearing the Brothers make their way towards them, Sohrrow waved his hand so they wouldn't do more harm. When Zsadist made a move forward, Ehnvy and Phride showed up and stopped the Brother in his tracks. They formed a wall between their brothers and the males since they saw the same thing Sohrrow did. Usually, if Nightmahre lost a match with his younger brother, he would either laugh it off and stalk away. Never had he ever attacked his brother with his back turned away. Whatever mood he was in, he wasn't thinking clearly and Sohrrow knew what happened if someone pushed his brother's buttons in this situation.

Licking the blood and standing up, Sohrrow waited for Nightmahre to throw the next punch. Instead, he turned away and headed for the locker room. Waving his brothers the okay, Ehnvy and Phride stepped aside for Z. While the Brothers stood by the entrance clueless, Sohrrow made his way over to the locker room.

Stepping inside and making sure the door was locked, he turned around to see Nightmahre hunched over on one of the benches. He had his head resting in one hand while the other one was in a hard fist. What surprised Sohrrow was that his brother's entire body was shaking. Nightmahre was shaking like a leaf.

"Hey, Night?"

Nightmahre didn't move.

Walking around his brother and standing in front of him, whatever breath Sohrrow kept slipped through his lips when he looked down at his brother. Tears seeped past Nightmahre's hand and slid down his arm. His body was shaking uncontrollably from the screams he was keeping inside him that only a low wheezing came from his lips. Something broke inside Nightmahre that he couldn't take much longer that he was crying. The last time Sohrrow saw his brother cry was when he found him in front of his burned house. He had cursed to the sky for the death of Rhoslyn and sought revenge ever since. He had screamed so hard that Sohrrow and his brothers hadn't heard a word from their older brother until a decade later. Since then, he had stayed silent.

Now watching him right now sent Sohrrow back to that day. Mumbling a curse to himself, Sohrrow went to his knee and placed a hand on his brother's shoulder. Nightmahre didn't stop shaking. In fact, he body was shaking more than ever.

"Night, what's wrong?"

He just shook his head.

"Come on. You need to tell me or it'll kill you."

Hearing wisdom in his brother's words, Nightmahre stopped crying long enough to speak. But his body still shook. "I fear I'm forgetting Rhoslyn," he answered. Sohrrow was so stunned by his brother's words that he didn't notice Nightmahre opening his clenched fist. In the center of his palm was a cut that ran from one side to the other. Taking his brother's hand, Sohrrow inspected the cut to see that something hard and sharp had caused it.

"She's fading from me, brother. I can't see her anymore."

"No. I'm sure you're just too occupied that you're mind's not working right. I'm sure that if you get some rest, you'll see her again in your memories. Ehnvy and Phride told me you've been down here since we got back. Maybe that's why. You've been working too hard. How about you take the night off and get some rest? I'm sure that'll do it and you'll see Rhoslyn in your dreams."

"You don't get it. I tried. Every time I close my eyes, she's no longer there. All I see are mountains going for miles and land that I've never seen before. And every time I see those mountains, I always see Gabrielle Seeing Bird."

Sohrrow's hand flinched. Nightmahre didn't notice since his brother was still holding his hand. He just continued to speak. "Gabrielle is the only one I can think about and it frightens me. Every time I try to see my _shellan_, the human takes her place. What am I going to do, Sohrrow? I don't want to forget Rhoslyn."

"Where did you get this cut?"

Nightmahre jerked his hand back. His head was so low that his hair covered his eyes. Sohrrow never wanted to see this side of his brother and it was killing him as he watched his brother fight his own wars alone. And now hearing that he was slowly forgetting his _shellan _terrified him.

"The bone chocker. I accidently took if from Gabrielle."

"Well, all of us are going to The Pack tomorrow night. How about you return it to the human and see what happens? Maybe then will she leave your mind in peace and you'll see Rhoslyn again."

When Nightmahre didn't say anything, Sohrrow got up and looked down at his brother. He then walked to the door and placed his hand on the knob. Looking back at his brother, his hand nearly crushed the knob. He and his brothers had followed Nightmahre all over the Old Country hunting _lessers _until there were no more. That was half a century ago and he watched his brother surrender to time. Nightmahre had been fading away that Sohrrow feared that his brother would do something foolish. But when they found out that there were _lessers _in Caldwell, a small flame ignited in Nightmahre and he left to hunt the enemy.

Even though he was just going through the motions, Sohrrow had been glad watching his brother do something. No longer seeing him as a ghost made him happy. But now seeing him as he did fifty years ago terrified him straight to the core. Nightmahre's battles had just intensified and Sohrrow didn't know what to do about it.

The human, Gabrielle Seeing Bird, was causing his brother this pain. Sohrrow's first thought was that the human was in the way and he should take care of her. But after seeing Nightmahre and Gabrielle in the alley sent a flicker of hope in Sohrrow. He saw how much he cared for the human and he saw how much she cared for his brother. In a way, Gabrielle was the only female to ever get past Nightmahre's barriers and see him. The kiss Sohrrow witnessed proved it.

But Gabrielle was also a double-edged sword. She would either be the salvation that Sohrrow wished so bad for his brother or she would be his destruction. And Sohrrow would do everything in his power to make sure the latter would never happen.


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter Fourteen

"Gabrielle?"

The knock on the door startled Gabrielle. Rolling around in her sleep, she rubbed her eyes and hollered out to the intruder. Sam spoke through the door, telling her that it was already night and that the Brotherhood would be at The Pack any second. Listening to his footsteps, she waited until he was downstairs and rolled on her back.

She had spent yesterday hunting _lessers _that she found her max. After having twenty-six visions in one day, her body reached its limit that she slept the whole day off. Now it was night and the bar would be filled with vampires soon.

Still feeling like she was having a hangover, Gabrielle slowly sat up and shook her head. The room spun around for a second before settling. Once she was sure she could stand without falling over, she kicked off the covers and hopped up to her feet. The little clock on her nightstand said that it was eight-ten and the Brothers would be showing up in twenty minutes. Just thinking about the vampires being in the same room with her sent shivers down Gabrielle's body. But since they didn't know she knew them, the shivers didn't feel as cold.

Flexing her muscles and popping some bones, she looked at her hanging clothes. Almost everything she packed was clipped on the clothes line drying. Fetching her duffle and seeing if there was anything left, Gabrielle had to settle with a pair of loose jeans and a black sleeveless turtleneck. Since the jeans hanged around her waist, Gabrielle found a belt and tightened its hold. She didn't plan on showing the Brothers her goods.

Running a brush through her hair and brushing her teeth, her hand automatically went to her neck. It felt taboo without her chocker. At least she was looking forward to one thing. The rest she would wing it and see how it went. Finishing her business in the bathroom, Gabrielle shoved her feet in her boots and threw on her leather jacket.

Barely touching the steps as she made her way downstairs, Gabrielle saw Sam coming from the kitchen where she heard the cooks preparing. On the stage was a group of people testing the system while a woman was tuning her violin. The waitresses were cleaning the tables and making sure everything was in order before heading back to the kitchen to talk some things over with the cooks. Staying on the steps for a second, Gabrielle waited until Sam was behind the bar checking the drinks did she move.

Taking a seat on one of the barstools, she waved at her friend and he nodded. Looking over her shoulder, Gabrielle listened to the woman play a few notes before nodding to herself. Pointing her thumb, Gabrielle asked if paying the violinist was such a good idea. Sam laughed briefly as if what she asked him was so stupid.

"Victoria is a regular. A bunch of customers arrive here on Fridays just to hear her play. It'll only be a matter of time before some big shot agent comes to give her a record deal. Until then, I'm paying her double just to play tonight."

Gabrielle wheeled around in her seat and inspected the woman named Victoria. She had to be only twenty-two because she looked really young. She had light blond hair that curled around her face since it was barely touching the nape of her neck. Her dark blue eyes showed such an innocence that Gabrielle could hear it every time she plucked a string. She had the body every model died to get since she was tall without the help of the heels she was wearing and her clothes hugged her body like it was a part of her. Even though she was wearing a nice blouse, Gabrielle caught peeks of a tattoo that had to be on her back since what looked like an ear ended at her shoulders.

"Does Victoria have a last name?"

"Bishop. Her name's Victoria Bishop."

"Interesting. If she's as good as you say, then I approve."

Sam laughed again and went back to double checking the drinks. When he wasn't looking, Gabrielle snatched a shot glass and the whiskey bottle. Sam saw her and rolled his eyes. He then went back to the kitchen to tell the cooks something. Pouring herself a drink and placing the bottle back in its spot, she tossed the drink around before drinking it. Tossing the cup in the sink, she shook her head and eyed the clock hanging above the bar. It almost felt like years of training was doing little to calm her. In five minutes would the Brotherhood show up and she would be in this room with them.

Eyeing that whiskey bottle again, Gabrielle shook herself and got up from her seat. Walking over to Gabrielle, she told the woman to play something electrifying. Telling her that the guests would be here any second, Victoria called over for the tech guys to get ready. Watching the violinist take control of the stage, Gabrielle snatched a chair and plopped her ass firmly in the center.

Propping her legs up on the table and folding her arms under her breasts, she waited for Victoria to play. When a beat radiated from the amps in the walls, Victoria ran her rod down her strings and the sound stole whatever sound was coming out of the amps. Going for a fast paced song, Victoria worked her magic that the music coming from the walls was only the structure for her song. The music coming off her strings was the composure.

Gabrielle was so caught up with the music that she failed to hear the door open. But when she did look over, she gulped so loud she was glad the music covered her. The first person to enter the door was Wrath. And right behind him was Tohrment and Beth. When Gabrielle watched the Brothers flood in, she almost knocked over her chair by jumping. It wasn't only the Brothers who were checking out The Pack. They had brought their _shellans _as well.

* * *

Closing the door right behind him, Nightmahre looked at the bar. The first thing he heard was a violin playing. Whoever was playing almost sounded like they were mixing today music with the oldest orchestra music. It was so good that Rhage whistled and the others clapped. But Nightmahre wasn't focused on the violinist on the stage. His eyes zoomed in on Gabrielle who had a shocked expression on her face.

Her eyes were so wide that her eyebrows shot up under her bangs. It almost looked like she paled in a nanosecond because her color fled instantly. Nightmahre wasn't the only one who noticed because his brothers waved at her. Waving back at them, she held up her finger for a second and nearly ran to the kitchen.

"What was that about?" murmured Sohrrow.

"I have no idea."

When the violinist changed her song to continue, Wrath led the others deeper in the bar and they took their seats. Well, not everyone. The song the violinist was playing had all the _shellans _begging their _hellrens _to dance with them. It was Ehnvy who cracked first and led Annahbeth to the dance floor. Rhage was second to follow with Mary and Phury was right behind his Brother with his hand in Cormia's. It was only seconds later when Bella got up and Zsadist followed her to the floor.

While they danced, Nightmahre kept his eyes on the kitchen door. Gabrielle had been in there for a while and he didn't know why. But then he remembered that she was only human. She probably hadn't expected to see such huge men in the same room. The numbers must've overwhelmed her that she had to go in the back to collect herself.

Palming the chocker he had in his hand, Nightmahre remembered why he came. He was to give Gabrielle her chocker and be done with her. Only then would he be with his Rhoslyn in his dreams.

All heads turned to the kitchen doors when they swung open and the waitresses came streaming out. Sam was right behind them with Gabrielle at his side. A smile formed on Nightmahre's lips when the two of them wouldn't look at each other. There was a hint of annoyance in Sam's eyes and a short temper in Gabrielle's. The soldier part of Gabrielle must've kicked in because she held herself with complete control.

Sam waved his hand for Victoria to stop playing. Coming to a halt, she lowered her instrument and the music stopped.

"Welcome," he greeted.

The Brothers and their _shellans _said their hellos. Being a gracious host, Sam told the vampires the specials if they wished to have any and the waitresses passed out the menus. When Lhyra, Annahbeth and Ehmma stood, Sam shot them a look that told them not to get up. Tonight was their night off and Sam already had someone working the bar.

Giving out their orders, Victoria resumed to her playing and the waitresses left with their orders. Informing them it wouldn't be long, Nightmahre watched Sam retreat to the bar and took a seat next to Gabrielle. The human released his breath and Gabrielle laughed. She said something to him that had Sam arguing and she laughed again.

Seeing that this was his only opening, Nightmahre got up from the table and walked over to the bar. Before he got there, Gabrielle's eyes locked on him and he stopped in his tracks. Sam noticed his friend looking towards the male and he got up to check on the orders. Now that it was only Gabrielle, Nightmahre closed the gap and was standing in front of her.

Having no words at the moment, he raised his hand and revealed the chocker.

"I was wondering where that went," laughed Gabrielle. Taking the chocker, she clipped it securely around her neck. "Thanks. I don't know what I would've done without it."

"It must be important to you."

"Not really. It's just one of those things you have to have. You know, like if someone's wearing a watch and they forget it one day they feel naked? It's just a habit and it felt weird without it. Again, thanks. How about a cup of whiskey to show my appreciation?"

The bartender quirked his eye brow. Baring her teeth, Gabrielle made a move and the tender backed up. Nightmahre stifled a laugh as the tender went back to his business and ignored her. Reaching over for the bottle and two cups, Gabrielle poured the brown liquid in the cups and handed one to Nightmahre.

"To honesty. Because I honestly didn't think I was getting this thing back."

They clinked their cups and swallowed the drinks whole. Placing his cup on the counter, Nightmahre took a seat next to Gabrielle and watched the others.

"So," mumbled Gabrielle, "are you going to tell me who the others are?"

"Just some friends."

"Friends my ass. We just made a toast to honesty. So be honest."

"Fine," he laughed. Pointing to each Brother and their _shellan_, Nightmahre told Gabrielle the Brother's names and their females. She didn't seem too bothered that their names were of emotions. In fact, she grumbled on how cool their names were. She then assured him that his name was cooler than the rest.

What was he doing? He was supposed to be cutting the string between the both of them. Instead, he felt whatever tiny bond they had strengthen. The more he heard Gabrielle talk and laugh, the more he wanted to seal those lips with his. As she talked, Nightmahre's eyes left her lips and traveled to the turtleneck hugging her breasts. He saw the faint outline of her bra and felt himself harden. The more he looked, the more he wanted to take Gabrielle somewhere quiet and undress her.

Shaking his head, he tried to focus on whatever she was saying. When she asked what he thought, he lied and agreed with whatever she said. She mumbled again about honesty and nudged his shoulder. He couldn't help himself and nudged her back. Since the food wasn't out just yet, Nightmahre eased back in the stool and caught a glimpse of the picture hanging behind them.

"Since you've asked me a hundred questions, how about I ask you some?"

"Fine by me."

Nightmahre bobbed his head towards the picture. "Your friends? Did they make it back state side?"

Gabrielle went quite. The smile and light in her eyes faded so fast that it was almost like it was never there. Playing with her cup, she kept her gaze away from Nightmahre. She then placed it aside and rubbed her hands along her legs.

"That's a story for another night. All I can say was that they were good friends."

Nightmahre didn't push. He could tell it took everything she had just to say that. And he didn't have to speak. The waitresses came out with the food and the Brothers cheered. Having ordered a juicy steak burger with heavy salted fries, the waitress placed the order next to Nightmahre and walked off to serve John and Xhex.

But when Nightmahre turned to eat his burger, it was gone. For a second, all he could do was blink like an owl. He then raised the plate as if expecting to find the burger under it. When it wasn't there, he lowered the plate and looked around. That's when he watched Gabrielle take a huge bite out of his burger.

"That's mine."

"Oh, go cry me a freaking river. I haven't eaten since last night and I'm starving." Waving and snapping her fingers, the waitress leaving Tohr and Cormia looked over. "Yeah. I want another one. Actually, make it a double. Sam said this shit was for free and I'm hungry."

Fast on her heels, the waitress disappeared in the kitchen with the order. Nightmahre had taken his eyes off Gabrielle for one second to see everyone laughing and looked back to see the burger gone. Then he looked to see his entire plate had vanished. All he did was toss his head and watched Gabrielle finish the French fries. She made twenty large fries disappear in a complete second and looked like she was still hungry.

Pushing the plate to the side and burping, Gabrielle stretched like a cat and eyed the door. Nightmahre just stared at his plate in utter sadness. Another new thing he found out about Gabrielle and his dinner paid for it. At least it didn't take long for the waitress to come out with two more plates of the same meal. Just for precaution, when the waitress placed their food on the counter, Nightmahre shoved his arm between his plate and Gabrielle.

Gabrielle rolled her eyes and started chowing down on the burger. After they both finished their dinners, they spent the rest of the night talking about random things. Nightmahre would ask her about her tours in Afghanistan and Gabrielle would ask him about his life with his brothers. Of course, the both of them could tell when the other was lying. They just didn't push it.

Nightmahre was working up the courage to ask about her home when Wrath stood. The waitresses had left with the finished plates and Sam had just walked in from his office. When Nightmahre saw the other Brothers stand, he knew their time here was up. Whatever he was going to ask Gabrielle would have to wait for another time.

"I'm guessing this ship is sailing?" she asked.

"Afraid so." They got up from their seats and stretched their arms. Wrath was thanking Sam for the night and the two shook hands. While the others were getting ready to leave, Nightmahre looked back at Gabrielle. She had stuffed her fists in her pockets and was leaned against the counter in a cool fashion. Another thing that Nightmahre was going to miss if he decided to break his ties.

And the more he thought about it, the more he didn't want to leave her.

"How about we hook up another time?"

"Sorry. My work here is done. I'm booking a plane back home in the morning."

"Oh. Well, have a nice flight."

He didn't wait for her to say anything. Nightmahre said his goodbye and left before she could say anything. Some of the females were already outside and heading to the side of the building to dematerialize. Nightmahre shoved past Sohrrow and he watched his brother look over to the bar. He then followed his brother outside.

Once Qhuinn was the last one out, Sam locked the door and started locking up.

"I like this place!" hollered Rhage.

"And the food! Oh my God!" cheered V.

Everyone laughed as they made their way a few buildings down. But Nightmahre stayed quiet. Because he was a great brother, Sohrrow waited for a second and slung his arm around Nightmahre.

"What's the matter, Night? From the way you were talking to Gabrielle, I'd say you hit it out the park."

"Hold up," called V. "Is that the same human you were all over a few nights ago?"

Some of the Brothers whistled while their _shellans _told them to shut up.

"She's heading back to Wyoming in the morning."

The cheering stopped. Some of them coughed and changed the subject while Ehnvy and Phride joined their brothers. Lhyra, Annahbeth and Ehmma joined them as well and they tried to talk about something else. Since they were trying, Nightmahre dropped the depression he was feeling and got in the conversation.

When they were a few buildings away, Butch was getting in the parked Escalade with V, Mary and Jane when Nightmahre heard something in the distance. It almost sounded like a chained fence shaking as if someone was climbing over it. Resting his palm on his hilt, he scanned the area. In the distance, he heard someone breathing real hard and approaching at a fast pace.

_"LHYRA!"_

Everyone turned around to see Gabrielle running straight towards them. With a gun in her hand and aimed straight at Lhyra.

She pulled the trigger.


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter Fifteen

Right after the Brotherhood left, everyone who was working was shutting down. The waitresses and cooks were already turning off the lights and heading out the back while Victoria and the tech people were packing things. Sam joined Gabrielle at the bar and watched everyone leave. Since Gabrielle already had the whiskey bottle out, Sam took it and sipped a few before handing it over.

"I can say this was a success."

"Please. You just served the entire Black Dagger Brotherhood and no one died. I wouldn't call that a success. I would call that a mission accomplished."

Once Victoria left with the last employee, Gabrielle hopped up from her seat and headed to the stairs. She needed to get some beauty sleep if she was to go on the hunt in a few hours. Besides, she figured the Brothers would be off anyways. She watched them have a good time that it didn't seem like they would be on patrol.

Taking one step up, Sam called her.

"I know it's asking much. But can you just check their future for a second. I know the males can take care of themselves. It's just that three of them are my employees and I want to make sure they get home safe."

Gabrielle thought about it for a second. She then nodded her head and took a seat on the step. Closing her eyes, she decided to look five minutes in the future. That had to be enough time for the vampires to get back to the mansion.

What she saw wasn't what she was expecting.

* * *

_Butch was getting in the Escalade with V, Mary and Jane. Everyone was still buzzing about the night that they missed the slight whiff of baby powder. Lhyra was with Sohrrow and her _hellren _left her for a moment to tell Tohr something._

_Lhyra was by herself._

_Coming out of another alley right behind her was a _lesser_. The enemy was so quiet that they were about to ambush the Brothers and their females. And Lhyra was at the back of the pack._

_Everything happened so fast. The _lesser _jumped out of the alley and pointed his gun at Lhyra. Sohrrow and the others were too late to react. The lesser had pulled the trigger and Sohrrow screamed._

_Lhyra died._

* * *

"Shit!"

Taking up the steps in blind fury, Gabrielle rushed back down with her holsters tied and her guns loaded. Flipping her tomahawk in its holster, she watched Sam run in his office and come out with a sniper rifle. At the end of the rifle was a silencer to make sure the public wouldn't hear the rounds go off.

Tossing her an ear piece, Gabrielle stuffed it in her left ear and Sam did the same with his right ear. Then the two took off out the back door and ran like bats out of hell.

"Where?" yelled Sam.

"Five blocks east. Has to be at least twenty _lessers _or more. Damn it! Sam, take high and get in position."

He didn't have to be told twice. Tossing the rifle on his back, Sam ran on top of a dumpster and jumped up on a fire escape. Disappearing in the shadows, Gabrielle threw her legs as fast as they could run. Time was ticking down and she'd be damned if she let the sons of bitches take out Lhyra.

Seeing a chain fence in the distance, Gabrielle leaped in the air and landed on the fence. Throwing her body over it, she landed on her feet and could see the events unfold in front of her. She was only seconds away from the Brothers that she knew the _lessers _were in position.

There was no time to think about her cover. Gabrielle was going to reveal herself to the Brothers if she was to save Lhyra.

"Sam!" she screamed in the piece.

"I'm in position. Shit! Gabrielle, I don't have a shot!"

Pulling out her Beretta and aiming while running, she had Lhyra in her visual.

_"LHYRA!"_

The female turned the very second she pulled the trigger. Just like her vision, the Brothers were too late to react. The bullet went flying and Lhyra barely saw it coming. But she did see the _lesser _jumping out and taking the bullet in the head.

Screaming, Lhyra stumbled back and Sohrrow caught her. Gabrielle didn't have time to take a breath of relief. She kept her finger on the trigger and the bullets whizzed at the alley where all the _lessers _were. Pulling out her other Beretta, she fired the both of them when she ran right in front of the alley.

Bringing her arms in and jumping, Gabrielle rolled and hit a dumpster back first and continued firing. To her surprise, the Brothers reacted and placed themselves in front of their females. The Escalade was long gone and the last _shellan _dematerialized. The only female loading up was Xhex.

When a hand clamped down on Gabrielle's shoulder, she looked up to see Nightmahre's shocked face. Ignoring him and getting to her feet, she emptied one gun and walked backwards while firing the other one clean. Now that she was behind allies, she dumped her gun and pulled out her tomahawk. Flipping it once and catching its hilt, she looked at the Brothers. She then looked at the _lessers _running right at them.

* * *

Nightmahre was beyond speechless. Gabrielle had just shot right at Lhyra when a _lesser _appeared and took the bullet. All the Brothers snapped in warrior mode when they watched the human fire at a _lesser _and jump past the entrance. It was then that they smelled the _lessers._

Even though he was king, Wrath ordered all the females to get out and snatched a gun from Butch. No one had time to argue with the male even though he was blind. The enemy was coming at them in numbers and there was a human giving them hell.

Phury and Zsadist returned fire so Nightmahre could get Gabrielle. When he looked down at her, he didn't know what to think. A human had just shot a _lesser _and it looked like she knew what was happening. He backed off when she stood and emptied her last clip. Nightmahre then pulled out his sword the same time Gabrielle pulled out a tomahawk strapped to her waist. He wasn't the only one to notice. Blaylock, Vishous, Tohrment and John looked with wide eyes as Gabrielle flipped it and caught it in a fighting position.

Once the _lessers _flooded out, Gabrielle touched her left ear and closed her eyes. That's when Nightmahre saw an ear piece.

"Sam, three at you two o'clock. L1 is going to provide cover for L2 and L3. Take them out or we're in a real shit storm."

Right on cue, three _lessers _did as she said and they fell to the ground with bullets in their head. The Brothers looked up in time to see Sam positioned high up with a rifle. When V made a move to join them, Gabrielle grabbed him by the wrist and threw him back. Her eyes were still closed when he bared his fangs at her.

"I need you and Xhex to cover our rear. Six _lessers _will be there in seven seconds followed by eight more in eighteen seconds. John, I need you to cover Tohr. He'll move up in three seconds and will go down if you don't cover him. Rhage, Qhuinn, protect Wrath. Sam, I need you to move one klick north. The enemy has backup coming and we can't handle it. Sohrrow, I'm going to need you to take your brothers and head in the same direction. Some stragglers will make it past Sam and I'm going to need you to take them out. You have twenty seconds to get in position."

Right after she spoke, everyone moved. And just like she said, everything happened on the dot that the Brothers easily took out the enemy. Not knowing what to do, Nightmahre stayed by Gabrielle when she opened her eyes. She looked up at him for a split second before running to a building and using its wall to throw herself up a fire escape. When he was about to follow, Gabrielle ordered him to hold his position until she gave the signal.

Watching her climb up to the roof, Nightmahre watched the Brothers fight off the _lessers_. John had Tohr's back and they were providing cover for Phury and Z to advance. In the back, V and Xhex were shooting down any _lesser _attempting to move up. In the distance, Nightmahre could hear the silent sound of a rifle going off with the sound of this brothers fighting. Everything was going exactly like Gabrielle said that a dark thought bloomed.

How did Gabrielle know the Brothers would be attacked?

He didn't have time to pounder the idea. When he looked at the _lessers _backing up, Nightmahre saw a shadow and looked up in time to see Gabrielle run and leap off the building.

"Shit!"

Not having time to think at all, Nightmahre dematerialized and appeared on the other side of the _lessers_. Right when he drew his sword back, Gabrielle landed on the _lesser _in front of him and severed its head from its neck with her tomahawk. That's when the _lessers _saw that they were now surrounded. And majority of them turned their attention to the two.

Gabrielle moved first. Releasing a battle cry of her own, she swung her tomahawk and killed the first _lesser_. Nightmahre didn't have to wait for a signal this time. When he watched her spin on her heel to gain momentum, Nightmahre charged and sliced his sword clean through a _lesser_. Feeling Gabrielle coming right behind him, he got out of the way when she brought her weapon down on the enemy's head and jerked back. She then bent down when Nightmahre brought his sword in an arc over her body and took out the last _lesser _holding a gun.

Now that the others remaining had no guns, they charged at the two with knives and pipes. Finding their strange pattern, Gabrielle went low and caught a _lesser's _ankle. Lifting it clean off the ground, Nightmare came down with his sword and stabbed the _lesser _right in the heart. He then brought his sword up to block a pipe from hitting him in the face and Nightmahre felt Gabrielle run up his back and push off to slay another _lesser_. Nightmahre was about to take down another one when Gabrielle grabbed his shoulder and nearly threw him down to the ground. The sound of bullets whizzed past his head and the four_ lessers _behind them fell to the ground. The Brothers were now advancing and the remaining _lessers _were now retreating.

Even with bullets flying over their heads, Gabrielle ran after the enemy and dodged every bullet. Before a straggling _lesser _had time to guard itself, Gabrielle severed its head in one swoop and took down the next one by drawing her tomahawk up its spine. Ducking her head a second after Phury pulled the trigger, his bullet hit the _lesser _Gabrielle was chasing and she jumped over its body to come down hard on the other one. Not giving it time to turn around, she smashed her weapon on its head over and over again.

After the body stopped moving, Gabrielle stood up with black blood all over her body. Breathing real hard, she stared down at the dead _lesser _and looked back at Nightmahre. Even though he was also covered in black blood, Nightmahre's eyes simply failed to register what he was seeing.  
Wiping her tomahawk on her jeans, Gabrielle backed up for Z and Phury chase after the last _lessers_. When the other Brothers joined them, Nightmahre cleaned his sword and sheathed it. Not far from the Brothers did Sohrrow appear with Ehnvy and Phride. And Sam.

"Well?" asked the human.

"Give me a second!" roared Gabrielle.

No one gave her a second. Wrath approached with Rhage and Qhuinn behind him and Phury and Z returned from killing the _lessers_. Everyone was checking their ammo in case another attack happened. But not the humans. Sam rested his rifle on his shoulder as he waited for Gabrielle to speak. She just slumped against the building and sighed from exhaustion.

"What the fuck just happened?" ordered Wrath.

All eyes turned to the two.

"Yeah, what the fuck did just happen?" Tohrment questioned.

Sam paid little attention at the vampires that he looked at them with a look. He then looked back at Gabrielle who found her feet and stood. Shoving her tomahawk in its holster, she held up her finger and closed her eyes. A second later, she opened them and rubbed her head.

"That's the last for tonight. We scared the shit out of the _lessers _that they won't be attacking for a while."

"Wait? What the hell do you mean the _lessers _won't be attacking? And how the fuck do you know about _lessers_?" asked Xhex.

This time it was Gabrielle who looked at the female with a look. When she looked at her friend, she threw up her hands and shoved them in her pockets.

"I'm guessing my cover is blown."

* * *

Gabrielle knew it was only a matter of time before the Brotherhood figured her out. She just didn't expect for her to save their asses. Now her she was with Sam, in an alley full of vampires demanding how two humans knew about their little war. Well, majority of them. Gabrielle could see the look on Nightmahre's face that spoke differently. While the others wanted answers, Gabrielle was sure Nightmahre was still riling in the face that she was covered in _lesser _blood.

Since it was Wrath who asked first, Gabrielle ignored Tohr and Xhex. Finding her strength to stand firm, Gabrielle faced the Blind King. It was intimidating at first. She remembered seeing the male when he could see. Now she was actually facing him in person and he was blind. To her, it was kind of an honor to be standing in front of him.

"I think I just saved you from getting yourself killed."

Sam cursed when the Brothers went on edge from her remark. But Wrath kept his cool and calmly spoke.

"I understand that part. But what I want to know is how did you know about the attack? As you can see, it looks like you were part of the attack and had a change of heart. Are you working with the _lessers_?"

Gabrielle couldn't control what came out of her mouth next.

"Mother fucker, are you crazy! I just saved you assholes from getting slaughtered and this is what you think? Why the fuck would I be working with _lessers_? I fucking hate their guts as you can see and I'll always hate them. I just saw the attack coming and I didn't want Lhyra to die because you forgot to check your fucking surroundings. And you call yourselves protectors of the vampire race? You have got to be fucking kidding me!"

No one spoke. No one even breathed. Gabrielle had just cursed the king out and it didn't seem to bother her. In fact, she looked like she was going to say more when Sam told her to stop and placed his hand on her shoulder. She just shook him off and said "fuck" one more time.

When she finally cooled down, it was Nightmahre who spoke first.

"You said saw. What do you mean you saw?"

"I saw it happen, Enkoodabooaoo. Unlike Vishous who has to wait for visions to come to him, I saw everyone's future and watched Lhyra die. If I didn't, she would be dead."

"Enko what?"

"Enough!"

Everyone looked at Wrath. He rubbed his eyes under his wraparounds and groaned as if he had a headache.

"It's clear you two know about us. And if you do, then you know the sun will be up in a few hours. How about we continue this conversation later?"

"Sounds good," interrupted Sam.

"But you do understand we can't just let you leave. You'll have to come with us."

Sam didn't argue. He just told the king that he had a truck and headed back to The Pack to get it. The night had started out good and now it was ending bad. All Gabrielle wanted to do now was find a bed or couch and sleep.


	16. Chapter 16

Chapter Sixteen

"I wouldn't bother."

Nightmahre turned to see Sam standing in the hallway. The human had changed out of his clothes when they got back to the mansion and was wearing a black T-shirt and jeans. The only thing military about his were the dog tags hanging around his neck and his boots. Besides that, he could pass in the human world as a normal person.

Looking back at the door, Nightmahre pulled his hand back. Gabrielle had taken the room right next to his and he was instructed to bring her down to the study. He was going to knock on the door when Sam showed up.

"Why not?"

"She won't wake up. She told me that she reached her limit last night."

"Limit?"

"Yeah. You see, Gabrielle has a limit on how many visions she can have in one day. The reason why she was so hungry the other night was because she had reached her limit the day before. Her body can keep up with so much that it takes her a full day of sleep to recover. We'll be lucky if she'll wake up in the morning."

It was stills strange hearing that Gabrielle could see the future. But Sohrrow didn't care. He thanked her for saving his _shellan _and Lhyra thanked Gabrielle the moment she walked in the mansion. No one bothered bringing up what happened and retreated to their rooms. But since Gabrielle and Sam didn't have any rooms, Gabrielle made a joke about grabbing the couch when Wrath had them escorted to some available rooms. Nightmahre just didn't like it that Gabrielle was sleeping with only a few inches of wall between him.

Figuring Sam was right, he took a step back and they headed down the stairs. The Brothers were already in the study that no one paid attention to Nightmahre and Sam when they walked in. Nightmahre was slightly surprised to see Rehvenge in the study with them. He thought the male had left to checkup on the _sympath _colony. It seemed that the male decided to extend his visit to see what was going on.

Taking his spot next to his brothers, Nightmahre made himself comfortable. Sam decided to sit on an arm of a chair and shoved his fists in his pockets. He showed no emotion of nervousness even though he was in a room of vampires. Sam held himself so well that no one could tell what he was thinking or feeling. He simply waited for Wrath to say something so he could answer.

Sensing the human was ready, Wrath placed his chin on his fists and leaned forward on his desk.

"Why do I get the feeling you've dealt with our kind before?"

"Because I have," answered Sam. He looked around to see the Brothers wanted to know more than that. "But it's been a while since I fought against the _lessers_. More like five years to be exact."

"And the one you call Gabrielle?"

"Well, if she were here with us, she would say the same thing."

"And where is she?"

"Sleeping."

"Sleeping!"

V left his spot and stalked all the way up to Sam. When the male stopped, Sam pushed himself off the arm and squared off with him. Besides being a few inches smaller, Sam had no trouble looking in Vishous's crystal gaze.

"Yes, she's sleeping. You can go ahead and try to wake her. But it'll be like trying to wake up the dead. Because of your sloppiness, Gabrielle had to see what I presume twenty-six visions in under six minutes. Don't you think that'll take a toll on a person's body?"

The two didn't back down. Tension was riding off of both of them that everyone was expecting a fight to break out. And it was clear that Sam wasn't afraid of the male. He knew that V was a vampire and didn't care.

Before that could happen, Wrath cleared his throat. They still didn't move. Instead, Vishous grabbed Sam by the shirt and jerked him towards him. Still not showing any emotion, Sam waited for the male to do something. When nothing happened, V released the human and took a few steps back. He stopped there and when nowhere else. Taking his spot back on the arm, Sam waited for the questions to continue.

"How exactly do you know I can have vision?" demanded V.

"Gabrielle. She used to keep tabs on you Brothers before she left. It's because of her that I just about know everything about your kind and the _Lessing Society._"

Everyone shifted. They didn't like that two humans knew about them and their enemy. The one rule that both sides played by was that they were to keep humans out of the crossfire. Hearing that Sam and Gabrielle knew them for about five years made them all wonder what part they played in. Of course, Gabrielle made it perfectly clear she was on their side. No one missed the language she used on Wrath.

While Wrath was quiet, Sam looked over at Rehv. When Rehvenge saw the human looking at him, he matched his gaze.

"And we know about _sympaths_."

Rehvenge dropped his head in his hand and leaned on his cane for support. Even Wrath pinched his eyes and moaned. There was no point in being polite. The human also knew about the other kind of vampires and didn't seem to care.

"So if you know everything about us, then you should know you shouldn't be doing this."

"I would say the same thing. But we have a common enemy and it's the _lessers_. They made an enemy out of me and Gabrielle and we hunted them about six years ago. It was when things were getting too close that she left and I stopped hunting. It's now been five years since and this is the first time Gabrielle returned."

"And why has she returned? I'm sure you can answer us that one."

Sam didn't have to turn around. He pointed directly to Nightmahre and his brothers. All four of them jumped at the accusation and the Brothers' eyes narrowed at the human. Even though he and Gabrielle saved their asses, he was accusing members of the Black Dagger Brotherhood.

"Besides the little outbreak of _lessers_, these four is the reason why I reached out to Gabrielle." Sam didn't give them time to defend themselves. He continued to speak that everyone stayed silent. "I noticed the slight decline of the enemy and figure that you Brothers might've been working overtime. But when I saw their _shellans _walk in and asked for a job, I knew there was another party in the game."

"Are you saying you used our females as bait?" hissed Sohrrow.

"No. I was indeed short on staff and they were ready for the job. So I gave it to them and saw you four come and pick them up."

"So what does this have to do with your partner?" asked Wrath.

This time, Sam raked his hand through his hair and moaned. Adjusting himself on the arm, he looked at the Brothers and the king. This was the part he was waiting for and thanked God that Gabrielle was out cold. If she knew he was going this deep in their past, she would kill him on the spot. Literally kill him.

"Even though I've moved on from what happened, Gabrielle had a deep obsession on killing every _lesser _she could get her hands on. But like I said, things were getting too close. The enemy realized that a human was hunting them since they were always attacked during the night and day. I was already halfway done with The Pack that I got out of the game in time. Gabrielle saw no other way but to leave. The _lessers _knew it was a woman hunting them and they were ready for her. I did everything I could to stop her. So Gabrielle's solution was to leave and she's stayed away from Caldwell for five years."

As Sam spoke, Nightmahre felt something in the pit of his stomach. The _lessers _must've done something to Gabrielle that she would risk exposure to the enemy. And from the way how the human spoke, the enemy also wounded him as well. It must've taken everything for Sam to ignore the _lessers _for half a decade. But not Gabrielle.

Nightmahre could see the anger in her eyes when she fought last night. Nightmahre saw the same anger he held in his eyes when he lost Rhoslyn. It was just that the anger in Gabrielle had been reignited. And from the sound of it, it was because of him and his brothers. Sam still hadn't said why he called Gabrielle and how it involved him and his brothers. It almost sounded like he was trying to avoid the answer.

"How does this involve me and my brothers?" Nightmahre asked.

The human surprised Nightmahre when he answered. "What do you think a fellow soldier would do when he sees another one acting like a ghost? Do you just sit around and wait for him to commit suicide. You get off your ass and do whatever it takes to bring him back to the real world."

Sam got off his perch and faced the male. No one spoke. When Sam caught Nightmahre's eyes, he now understood why the human did what he did. He just wanted to hear him say it.

"This has nothing to do with you brothers. If it was just them, I wouldn't have bothered calling Gabrielle. But the main reason why she's here is because of you. I'm not totally clear on your kind and the Fade but I know you can't kill yourself. The only solution you found was to die in battle and I saw the disappointment in your eyes every time you walked in my bar. I'm human and I couldn't help you. But Gabrielle is way more. She can see the future and figure out ways how to change them. So I figured if I got her here, she could see you future and change it."

"And what did she see?"

"How about you ask her?"

"Okay, I think we're getting off track," spoke Wrath.

Sam backed off and so did Nightmahre. The human had guts to talk to the male the way he did. If he was a vampire, he would've made a great Brother. But since he wasn't, he made up for being a soldier.

"So you saying that Gabrielle is here because of Nightmahre?"

"Yeah."

"Well, I think we should continue this another time. All this talk about futures and the fact that you humans know about us is giving me a headache." Wrath paused for a second. "And since all of you are here, I'll only say this one time. If Gabrielle is staying, then she's Nightmahre's new partner."

"What!" roared Nightmahre.

"You heard me. Since the human is here because of you, then the best way for her to complete her mission is for her to be you new partner. Besides, I'm pretty sure Rhage has plenty of things to do."

All the Brothers broke out in laughter. Even his own brothers next to him laughed themselves silly. Sam rolled his eyes and laughed with the group. Nightmahre just stood there with a face of disbelief.


	17. Chapter 17

Chapter Seventeen

The night went by fast. Since the Brothers figured out Gabrielle could see the future, they all took the night off since she said the _lessers _wouldn't attack for a few nights. Sam had left right after the meeting with Lhyra, Annahbeth and Ehmma since the human got a call from the bar. The Brothers and their _shellans _were spending time together on their night off and the mansion was lively.

Now Nightmahre stared at the door and clenched his fist. All night long he didn't see Gabrielle. Even though Sam said she might not wake up, she still hadn't eaten all day and Nightmahre knew that humans had to eat at least a bit a day. Thinking about her starving made Nightmahre nervous. He didn't know why. He was just nervous.

Sucking in his breath, he was about to knock when the door opened. The first thing Nightmahre saw were breasts. The next thing he saw was a black bra covering the breasts. A matching pair of panties was wrapped snug around a bare waist and disappeared between two bare legs. Breaking eye contact, Nightmahre looked straight up to see Gabrielle yawning.

Standing right in front of him was Gabrielle who was wearing nothing but a bra and panties. Right off the bat he went hard that he was sure there was a bulge in his pants. His breathing hitched so fast that he coughed and looked away. After Gabrielle finished yawning, she looked up at the male and looked back to her attire.

"What? You got a problem with something?"

"You're, um, not properly dressed."

"Well, excuse me! I'm sorry that Sam forgot to grab some of my clothes when he went to get his truck. Since the only pair I have his in the washer somewhere, this is all I got to wear. So if you have a problem, why don't you get the hell out of my face? I'm starving and I'm ready to raid someone's kitchen."

When Nightmahre didn't move, Gabrielle placed her hands on her hips and raised her chin. She started tapping her foot and narrowed her eyes as she waited for him to move. The more she stood in front of him, the more Nightmahre couldn't stop looking at her. From the day he saw her, he wanted to get her in his bed. Now here she was with barely anything on and he wanted to fuck her so bad.

But when he looked over her skin, Nightmahre found himself growling. He expected to see some scars since Gabrielle was a soldier. He just didn't expect to see what looked like shrapnel wounds riding from her waist all the way up to her arm. What angered him the most was the bullet wound only inches from her heart. There were the occasional scars around her hands and wrists but those looked like the scars people get when they're fixing cars or other things.

Finding the last scar on her, Nightmahre found his way back to her eyes to see her patience thinning. Trying his best not to look back down at certain areas, he rubbed his eyes and waved to his room. Gabrielle cocked her eyebrow for a second and then crossed her arms under her bra. Just watching her breasts jiggle from the sudden movement was breaking Nightmahre's restraint. He really needed to get her some clothes or he wouldn't be responsible for what he was thinking.

Taking three steps and opening his door, Nightmahre went through his drawers. Everything he owned was way too big that he thought of asking one of the females for something when he turned around. Gabrielle was standing under his doorway and was inspecting his room.

"It's a little damp in here. You should add in pictures or something."

Swallowing the lump in his throat, the only thing Nightmahre could find were some sweats and an oversized shirt. Tossing them, Gabrielle caught them and flipped them a few times. Figuring that this was all he had for her, she stepped in the sweats and threw on the shirt. Nightmahre's cock throbbed when he watched the shirt's neckline hung real low on her torso that her breasts peeked at the top. Gabrielle had to hold on the sweats from them falling over her slender waist.

Grunting to herself, Gabrielle found the string and tightened the waist band as far as it would go. Since she would trip over the legs, she rolled them up until her ankles showed. As for the shirt, Gabrielle reached for the back and tied the end in a knot so that the shirt was no longer hanging low.

Securing the clothes, she looked at Nightmahre with satisfaction. Now that she was fully clothed, he could think clearly. However, he had to resist the urge to straighten himself with her still looking at him. Clearing his throat, Nightmahre walked out the room with Gabrielle close to heels. Walking down the hallway and finding their way to the staircase, he noticed Gabrielle stopped behind him and looked at her.

"What is it?"

"Oh! Nothing. It's just that this is the first time I've actually seen the mansion in person. The only times I would see it were in visions. It's quite bigger in person."

"You almost sound like a robber who's finally broken in a bank."

"And I'm not ashamed to agree."

Not waiting for him, Gabrielle practically skipped down the steps and waited for Nightmahre at the bottom. He shook off his shock and joined her at the bottom. Walking side-by-side, they both entered the kitchen together. Last Meal had ended an hour ago and the _doggen _were cleaning up. Of course, there were some Brothers in the kitchen eating some leftovers. When they saw Nightmahre and Gabrielle walk in, they took their plates and left the two alone with the acceptation of _doggens_.

Ignoring them and finding her way to the fridge, Gabrielle leaned over and examined the food. Again, Nightmahre's control was tested as he watched Gabrielle bend over. His sweats did little to hide that ass he wanted to squeeze so much. All Nightmahre could do was look the other way and sat in one of the chairs.

Slamming the fridge behind her and balancing a rotisserie chicken in one hand and an extra-large pizza box in the other, Gabrielle kept her chin down to hold a string of Dr. Peppers and made her way to the island Nightmahre was sitting at. Placing the pizza down, she took the cans and opened one. Chugging it down and opening the second, Gabrielle dropped the chicken on the island and popped open the plastic.

She took a bite out of the leg she ripped off and used her free hand to shovel through the pizza. Tearing the skin off the bone, she almost broke the bone the same time she made room for the pepperoni slice. Using the soda to chug down the remains, Gabrielle ripped another leg and chowed down when she noticed Nightmahre. He was sitting very still and had his mouth hanging.

"What? Did I get some sauce on my face?"

"That's a whole chicken and a full pizza box. And eight cans of Dr. Pepper. Are you sure you can finish all of this by yourself?"

"Is that rhetorical? Please, I think I'll need more food since this is close to a snack."

"Snack! You can feed three or four people with all that food and you're calling it a snack?"

Gabrielle proved her point when she went to quick work on the pizza. She had finished the extra-large pizza in three minutes and was cleaning herself up from finishing the chicken. Taking the last can, she chugged it dry and burped. Nightmahre's face was the same with his mouth hanging wide open. All that remained of the food were a few bones, an empty box and eight crushed soda cans.

And to his astonishment, he heard Gabrielle's stomach growl out of hunger. Burping once more, she jumped up from her seat and skipped over to the fridge. As Gabrielle went through the fridge, Nightmahre decided to collect her trash and threw it away. But when he turned around, he couldn't believe his eyes. Gabrielle had pulled out a litter of Coke, the remaining turkey from Last Meal that could feed two Brothers and a pint of chocolate ice cream.

Balancing the Coke on the ice cream in one hand and the turkey in the other, Gabrielle dropped the food on the island and plopped down. Before she could chow down on the food, Nightmahre pulled the plate of turkey away from her fork.

"Exactly how hungry are you?"

"Uh, like I haven't eaten all day. Wait, that's right. I haven't! So if you don't mind." She reached for the turkey with her fork. Nightmahre pulled the meat from her reach. Sensing he wouldn't hand it over, she grunted and replaced her fork with a spoon. But when she reached for the ice cream, Nightmahre pulled the ice cream as well.

"Dude, I am starving. Hand over the food so I can fill my stomach."

"Are you always this hungry?"

"No. But if I reach my limit, then yeah. I have to sleep all day for my body to release the stress that was placed on it. Then I wake up with a hungry stomach. So hand over the food or I'll stab you."

"Where's the chicken?"

Nightmahre and Gabrielle looked over to see the fridge open. Slamming it shut, Lassiter looked at the two with a disappointed look. When Nightmahre looked at Gabrielle, he watched her face turn from pouting to soldier. It seemed that she didn't know about the fallen angel and it was putting her on edge.

Gabrielle closed her eyes for a second and her whole body tensed. Her eyes then popped open and she reached for the fork. Since he knew she couldn't hurt the angel, Nightmahre reached over and plucked the fork out of her hand. As for Lassiter, he waited for the two to answer his question. Nightmahre pointed at Gabrielle with the fork.

"You ate the chicken?"

"It was in the fridge. You know what that means? It means it's there to be eaten. And who the hell are you and why can't I see your future?"

Lassiter blinked for a second. Then a wicked smile formed on his lips. Making his way to the island, he leaned against the top and swiped a piece of the turkey. A hissing sound came from Gabrielle and when she reached for the turkey, Nightmahre actually placed it on his lap so she couldn't reach it.

"So you're the human who can see people futures. I've been meaning to talk to you."

"Fine. Getting talking and don't think about eating my turkey."

"That's what you get for stealing my chicken. And my name is Lassiter."

"You're not a Brother, that much I can tell."

"Bingo! I'm way cooler than those wannabes. In fact, you can say I'm a fallen angel and I'm here on vacation."

Nightmahre waited for Gabrielle. She had gone quiet for a second. When Lassiter reached for a piece of turkey, Nightmahre didn't stop him and the angel ate a piece. Gabrielle then got up with the Coke and went back to the fridge. Dumping the litter in, she scavenged around for something and came back with two beer bottles. Popping one open and drinking it halfway empty, she hiccupped for a second and then looked at Lassiter.

"There's no such thing as fallen angels."

"I'm right here in front of you. I'm pretty sure that's proof."

"Then do something. Do something that'll make me believe what you're saying is true."

Still holding the turkey, Nightmahre turned away when Lassiter shined like a light bulb. His whole body radiated with light that even Gabrielle had to shield her eyes from the light. When the light vanished, Lassiter took another strip of turkey and ate it in front of Gabrielle. Looking at the angel in disbelieve, she sat there in her chair with her mouth hanging.

"So, do I pass?"

Gabrielle bolted from her chair that it flipped over.

"And Vishous?"

"What about him?"

"Is he like you? I mean, I always knew he was more than a vampire. His future was always spotty when I saw it while the others were clear. I knew something was different about him but I could never put my finger on it. So is he like you?"

This time, Nightmahre placed the turkey back on the island. He thought that since Lassiter had her attention that she would forget about the food. But the moment the plate touched the surface, she pounced on it like a wild animal and ripped the leg clean off. Even Lassiter was in a moment of awe when Gabrielle cleaned the leg in three bites and made her way to the full body.

Eating piece by piece, all that was left were bones of the turkey and not a shred of meat. Gabrielle had already finished the other beer bottle and was cleaning up the pint of ice cream that she started on two minutes ago. It was when she was reaching the bottom that she started slowing down.

"Aw, that was good."

"But you're still eating," Nightmahre said.

"Out of sheer taste. I have a slight weakness for chocolate and a huge one for chocolate ice cream." She looked at the angel who was tossing away the bones in the trash. "Now, what about V?"

"I'm not sure I should be telling you this but you entertain me. So to answer your question, he's different. He and his sister are the children of the Scribed Virgin."

"Sister! Scribed Virgin!" After her little shriek, she jumped up again and wouldn't stop. Nightmahre eyed the ice cream that was now clean. He would have to make sure the _doggens _would stop buying anything chocolate.

"I knew it! It was there in front of me all this time but I didn't want to believe it. And V has a sister? Damn it, Sam! Information my ass. He didn't put in his files that V had a sister. Ah, man. This just makes perfect sense. I mean, I never really understood why the hand he kept gloved would make things burn and how he had visions. But son of the Scribed Virgin? Major perfect sense!"

"I think that's the last time you have chocolate," joked Lassiter.

"Wait! So who's his sister? I haven't seen her yet. And I'm pretty sure her future will be spotty just like Vishous's."

Before she could finish the sentence, Lassiter backed away and bolted from the kitchen. Now it was just her and Nightmahre.

"Where the hell did he go?" she asked.

"I think you scared him off."

Grunting out loud, she picked up her chair and sat back down. Now that she was calm for the time being, Nightmahre figured this was the right time to tell her she was now his new partner. By the way how she was acting, he figured she didn't know. But when he opened his mouth, Gabrielle got back up and started heading out the kitchen.

Dumping her trash away, he raced after her and was right behind her when she was at the stairs. Gabrielle didn't turn even though he was sure she felt him right behind her. She just walked up the steps and down the hallway until the both of them were at their doors. Of course, Nightmahre stopped by his door and pretended like he was going to enter. But as he watched Gabrielle close the door behind her, he sighed in disappointment. He might as well tell her tomorrow since he lost his chance.

Opening his door, Nightmahre was about to enter when Gabrielle popped out of her room. With his clothes in her hands. Only wearing her bra and underwear. Calling his name, she tossed his clothes at him.

"It seems those _doggen _work fast when it comes to clothes. You can have yours back since mine are here. But thanks for letting me borrow them."

That feeling was back and Nightmahre swallowed that lump in his throat.

Before she went back in her room, Nightmahre blurted out what he was supposed to tell her.

"Wrath said we're to be partners. Since you're here because of me, he figured your work would be done faster is we're partners."

Gabrielle froze with the door wide open. When she didn't move, Nightmahre made a move towards her and stopped when she looked at him. He couldn't tell what she was thinking since her eyes were hard. Again, he was looking at that soldier she had been trained to be and he hated it when she did that in front of him.

"Well, get some sleep, Enkoodabooaoo. Because I'm not covering your slack."

"My name is Nightmahre. And what does that even mean?"

"Look it up."

With that, she slammed the door behind her and locked it. Standing alone in the hallway, Nightmahre fisted his sweats and shirt. Bringing them up to his nose, he sniffed them and smelled almost everything he had smelled from the chocker. The only scent that was different was the scent of jasmine. He sure as hell wasn't washing these.


	18. Chapter 18

Chapter Eighteen

Six days later…

Breathing real hard, Gabrielle looked at Nightmahre who was standing on the other side of the mat. In his hand was his sword and in hers was her tomahawk. After First Meal, the two had headed to the gym and had been sparing for three hours straight. There were hardly any _lessers _since that night and the Brothers were starting to get bored. While some still went on patrols, the others either went out or spent time with their _shellans_.

Now that Gabrielle and Nightmahre were partners, the two had been spending more time together. Whenever they went on patrols, they would stay silent in the Range Rover and barely speak. But when Gabrielle had a vision, the both of them went after the group. They would make quick work of the _lessers _that they started killing time by leaving the Rover and walked around. The two knew that there were barriers between them and that it would take a while to bridge the gap.

Since they weren't on patrol tonight, they figured the best thing would to hit the gym. At first, they fought with their hands. But when they saw that they weren't getting anywhere, Nightmahre had grabbed his sword and Gabrielle armed herself with her tomahawk. Now they were staring at each other, waiting for the first one to move.

Nightmahre rushed up and brought his sword in an arc. Bringing her arms up to block, Gabrielle had her tomahawk block the blade. Twisting it in her hand, the edge kicked the sword up and Gabrielle swung right at Nightmahre's stomach. He jumped out of the way in time but barely brought his sword up to block when Gabrielle spun on her heel and attacked from above. When Nightmahre caught her weapon, Gabrielle jumped up and threw a jumping back kick.

Contacting right at his chest, Nightmahre fell back for a second and dropped his guard. Switching her tomahawk in attack mode, Gabrielle dashed around on both of her feet and jumped in the air. Using her knees, she came down on Nightmahre and pinned his shoulders with her knees. Now that she was on top of him, she brought her tomahawk up when Nightmahre grabbed her waist and rolled. Bringing her down, Nightmahre was now the one on top and rested his sword on her neck.

Nocking the sword with her tomahawk, Gabrielle head-butted the male and wrapped her legs around his waist. Throwing him backwards, she rolled back on his chest and pressed her edge on his neck. When Nightmahre tried to bring his sword up, Gabrielle kicked out her leg and held him arm down with her foot. She did the same thing when Nightmare tried to use his other arm. Now with her sitting on top of him with both of her legs holding his hands down, she was forced to lean down to secure her hold on her weapon.

"Give?" she gasped.

"Not…not just yet," he breathed.

Releasing his hold on his sword, Nightmahre grabbed Gabrielle's ankles and jumped up. Caught off guard, Gabrielle dropped her weapon and coughed her last breath when she fell on her back. Trying to fend off Nightmahre, she tried to kick but Nightmahre held tight to her ankles. Wrapping his arms around her legs, Nightmahre used his upper body to hold down Gabrielle while he had her legs above his shoulders.

Catching her breath, Gabrielle was out of moves. The male had learned from their earlier practices on how to take her down. In a way, this had been a rematch and he finally won. Now he was on top of her and she felt something big rub against her waist. The touch made her body tighten and she was sure Nightmahre felt her legs shake for a second.

"Done?"

"Yeah."

Releasing her, he rolled to his side and rested next to Gabrielle. The two took long gulps of air that their breathing was in unison. It was Nightmahre who rolled up to his feet and offered his hand. Having no problem, Gabrielle gladly took it and he lifted her right to her feet. As Nightmahre turned away, Gabrielle caught the faint glimpse of the name Rhoslyn carved in the males back before his hair covered it. Gabrielle had gotten used to seeing Nightmahre's _shellan's _name since he fought without a shirt. But it always made her feel uncomfortable. The thought of Nightmahre being with someone else made her feel slightly jealous.

Walking over to the bench, she grabbed her water bottle and leaned over when she doused her head with water. Shaking her head and finishing the last drop, she grabbed the towel and tossed the other one to Nightmahre. He caught it and did the same thing Gabrielle did. But she had to cover her face with the towel since his hair was out of its ponytail and it was longer than hers. Once he was done and drying his face did Gabrielle collect her tomahawk and placed it in its leather holster. Reaching down and picking up the sword, she swung it around a bit before handing it back to its rightful owner.

Nightmahre took a seat on the bench and rested his head against the wall. Not having anything to do, Gabrielle took a seat next to him and did the same.

"So," he sighed, "how do you know how to wield that thing? I'm sure the army didn't teach you those moves."

A tiny laugh came from her lips. "I was already trained before I entered the army. My dad basically taught me everything I know. From hand-to-hand combat to tomahawk fighting, he taught me all those things. The army just taught me how to use a gun in battle."

"Why would your dad teach you that stuff? Did he want you to be a warrior or something?"

"If I was a boy, then yes. But since I'm not, I can't exactly follow my dad's footsteps. That didn't mean he couldn't teach me how to fight. He taught me the same way his dad taught him and so forth."

Nightmahre looked at her. She could tell his curiosity had peaked and he wanted to know more about her. It had been like this for six days. When she got curios and asked him about his past, he would try to answer with as much honesty. It was Gabrielle who kept a tight lip on her life, especially when it came with her obsession hunting _lessers_.

"You know I'm Cheyenne?" He nodded. "Well, my dad is a highly respected man on the reservation. He's a police officer of the Tribal Police and my mom is a lawyer who only serves the Cheyenne. In a way, my dad is slightly keeping the tradition going by protecting our people."

"What do you mean?"

"My dad and his dad before him, going all the way back to the time where the Cheyenne were free, are trained in the way of the Dog Soldiers."

Gabrielle waited for Nightmahre to gain composure. His mouth went slack the moment she told him about her family's history. In a way, she had been born into a warrior family and was a warrior herself. If she had been a boy, she would be able to perform the dances at the Pow Wows with her dad. But since she wasn't, she decided the best way to fight was to join the army. In a way, she felt like the warrior she was born to be when she served. Now she felt more of what she was meant to be fighting with the Black Dagger Brotherhood.

"So you're a warrior at heart?"

"Through and through."

This time, it was Nightmahre who released a small laugh. When she looked at him, he had closed his eyes and was looking up. They were both exhausted. It would take sheer willpower for them to get up and Gabrielle's legs felt like noodles.

Figuring they weren't going anywhere, she leaned her head and accidently felt it rest on Nightmahre's arm. When he didn't move, she stayed where she was. Instead, Nightmahre raised the arm she was resting on and wrapped it around her shoulders, drawing her closer to him.

"Gabrielle Seeing Bird, a woman of the Cheyenne and descendent of the great Dog Soldiers. Warrior of her people and soldier of the vampire race. I have to say, that's not a bad title."

"Please, it almost sounds too formal." But she did like the ring to it.

Almost thinking that they were alone, the doors opened and Ehnvy walked in with Phury. A large sigh came from Nightmahre and he brought his arm back. Gabrielle could feel the tension in his arm as he pulled back. He wanted her to stay in his arms and relish in the moment. Now his brother and Phury interrupted the moment. The moment was gone and Nightmahre had found his way to his feet.

The two probably didn't see them because they were still talking about something. Then John, Qhuinn and Blay walked in as well with their gear in hand. Gabrielle hopped to her feet, feeling that the gym was too crowded. The both of them slipped out without anyone noticing them.

Walking in silence, they entered the mansion. While everyone was doing their own thing, Nightmahre and Gabrielle walked up to their rooms and parted ways. Closing the door behind her, Gabrielle slipped out of her sweats and sports bra. Walking over to the shower and watching the room fill up with steam, she stepped under the spray and sighed in relief. The water worked its magic on her muscles that she felt them unwind.

Reaching for the soap and cleaning herself, Gabrielle thought of the title Nightmahre spoke. He would joke around only with her and no one else. The title he said didn't sound like a joke. In fact, it almost sounded like he gave it much thought. And during the past days, Gabrielle could feel him working up to say something with her. Their silence in the Rover and their walks were his way of getting close to her. She had seen the change in the male when he talked with the Brothers and his own. But the only time he would laugh was around her. And she liked the way he laughed.

* * *

Taking a quick shower and falling asleep, Nightmahre dreamed of the mountains where he and Rhoslyn once lived. Not far from their home was a meadow with a lake. He and his female would sometimes fall asleep under the night sky and listen to the crickets sing. Now he was dreaming of that same place and opened his eyes to see Rhoslyn sleeping in his arms.

Nightmahre saw little resemblance between his female and Gabrielle. While Gabrielle had black hair and dark brown eyes with tanned skin, Rhoslyn had bright gold hair and light golden eyes. Her skin was fair that any female of their race would by jealous. Rhoslyn had been a kind soul while Gabrielle had a soul for battle. While Rhoslyn was soft and mindful to everyone she met, Gabrielle never tried to please anyone. She would flat out tell someone the truth and didn't care if it hurt their feelings. In a way, it was her way of not hurting someone. Nightmahre figured it was Gabrielle's way of saving someone from a long and painful path. He couldn't find a single thing that was in common between Rhoslyn and Gabrielle except for the fact that he had loved Rhoslyn and he liked Gabrielle.

Stirring in his arms, Rhoslyn propped her chin on Nightmahre's chest and opened her eyes. They were the light to Nightmahre's dark eyes. Her eyes had been the first thing he noticed when he first met the female. After that, he noticed everything about her.

"You've been busy," she whispered.

Nightmahre knew this was a dream and figured he was making Rhoslyn say these things. So he when along with the dream.

"Not really. There hasn't been much action with the enemy that the Brothers have been at ease."

"You know what I mean."

Rhoslyn went up and down when Nightmahre laughed a bit. Tracing her face with his hand and lacing his finger with her hair, he sighed. "I was just sparring with Gabrielle. We're just friends."

It was Rhoslyn who laughed. "You know you want to be more than friends. You still have the clothes she borrowed under your pillow. And my dear, you think too much. You try to impress her and lose your chance every time. Last I recall, you told me you liked my eyes and we went from there."

"Why are we talking about this? I just want to hold you in my arms."

"Stop fooling yourself." Pulling away from him, Rhoslyn sat up and cradled Nightmahre's cheek in her hand. "I know you like the human. And I know she likes you in return. The only way how she can speak it is when you two either spare or go out on patrols. But you both pull away when you get too close. My love, I don't want you to suffer because of my death. You have a bright future with Gabrielle if you only allowed yourself to love. So please, try to reach out to her. She might not show it but she yearns for your touch. You must be the one to act first or you will lose her."

Nightmahre didn't get to speak. Rhoslyn leaned down to kiss him and the dream vanished. Nightmahre woke up to a ceiling above his head. His hair was still wet that his sheets were now soaked with water. Pinching his nose, he reached under his head and pulled out the clothes Rhoslyn just spoke of. Nightmahre had done his best to hide them from the _doggens _since Gabrielle's scent was still fresh.

Bringing the sweats and shirt to his nose, he inhaled and exhaled. Gabrielle had told him that she would sometimes light white sage when she had visions in her room to cleanse her body and that was the same smell on her chocker. He like the smell and everything else he smelled coming from him. After the talk he had with Rhoslyn, Nightmahre figured his female was right. He wasn't ready to love again but he didn't want to lose Gabrielle. There was no way in hell Nightmahre would lose Gabrielle. In a way, he'd rather die than lose her.


	19. Chapter 19

Chapter Nineteen

There hadn't been a single _lesser _in sight. Gabrielle had at least four visions and saw nothing. So since they weren't going to see any action tonight, Gabrielle and Nightmahre abandoned the Range Rover and did their walk. It was cool outside with a hint of October around the corner. Nightmahre was wearing his trench and had it buttoned up to hide his sword and give him some warmth. Gabrielle had almost buttoned her old leather jacket all the way up to the neck. Her jacket was still long enough to hide her tomahawk since it rested around her thighs.

Taking their usual route, they ended up in front of a park where there was a food truck by the gate. Walking up to the window and ordering two hamburgers, Gabrielle stomped her feet in her boots for a second. She was slightly losing touch in her toes that she had to stomp her feet hard on the concrete. When she breathed she saw her breath in mist form and she groaned. Even though she had lived around the mountains in her home, the cold was her least friend. After five years, she forgot how cold Caldwell got.

Paying the chef and sitting one of the benches in the park, Gabrielle ripped open her burger and watched the steam roll off. Nightmahre didn't wait as well. The both of them took a bite out of their burger at the same time and savored the taste. It had been Nightmahre's idea to try out the food truck a few days ago and now it was their permanent food stop. The burgers were heaven with the temperature just perfect and the juice riding over the customers tongue was unbelievable. Gabrielle never cared on what she ate but she feared she might go fat if she continued to eat the food.

Reaching for the fries and swallowing them with a sip of Coke, she took her time eating the burger. When she looked at Nightmahre, he had already finished the burger and was cleaning up his fries.

"You're supposed to savor the taste, Enkoodabooaoo."

A flash of annoyance crossed Nightmahre's face. "How many times do I have to ask you to stop calling me that? Is it too hard just to say my name?"

"Not really, Enkoodabooaoo. I just think the name suites you."

"And what does Enko whatever even mean?"

"Look it up."

"I've tried! I can't even spell the name right. So can you just tell me what it means or I'll shoot myself."

Gabrielle just smiled and finished her burger. She wasn't about to tell him what his name meant just yet. She liked seeing his frustration every time she wouldn't tell him. Of course, Gabrielle had seen Nightmahre looking up the name countless times. All he could spell right was the first four words. Then he would mouth out the rest of the name and stalk away from the computer with failure.

Forgetting about the weird name Gabrielle called him, Nightmahre looked at the people walking by them. There were hardly any humans around since it was one in the morning. The food truck was shutting down since Nightmahre and Gabrielle were its late customers. Eventually, they would be sitting on the bench alone and then head back to the mansion.

"We really haven't talked about ourselves."

His words caught Gabrielle off guard. Looking up at the male, she narrowed her eyes. Her first thought was that he was going to pull a prank. But when he would look her in the eyes, she then understood his words. The only things they talked about were their lives as fighters and nothing else. The yellow tape was drawn over the reason why they fought the _lessers_. Besides that, they didn't talk about anything else.

Sucking the last of her Coke, Gabrielle raised her shoulders and buried her chin under her jacket. Shoving her fists in her pocket, she looked back at Nightmahre.

"You know the rules. No talking about our personal reasons for fighting."

She watched the male fight a smile that tried to surface. To cover it up, he pretended to cough. Good thing Gabrielle's chin was under her jacket because she smiled to herself. Ever since they started working as partners, she liked Nightmahre. Of course, she was glad he was no longer the male she saw in her visions. He started joking and laughing that he was starting to grow on the Brothers. Gabrielle had heard the males talk about Nightmahre and saw them beginning to trust them. It was now only a matter of time before they trusted him enough to be their new partner.

"How about favorite shows? What's your favorite TV show?"

Gabrielle bit her tongue. She then looked at the sidewalk to hide her blush.

"Promise you won't laugh?"

"I'll try."

Gabrielle mumbled her favorite show

"Speak up! All I heard was Mumpire Miaries."

"Vampire Diaries! My favorite show is Vampire Diaries!"

Her face exploded red when Nightmahre burst out laughing. He was laughing so hard he had to hug his center and place his head between his legs. Gabrielle practically shrieked for him to stop it. Her shriek only caused him to laugh harder. When he started hyperventilating, Gabrielle hastily reached for his side and pinched real hard. Nightmahre's body jolted up from the pain but was still laughing.

Burying her face halfway under her jacket, Gabrielle's face went up a hundred degrees when Nightmahre finally cooled down. Wiping his face of tears, he looked at her and sputtered another laugh. When he was truly done, she gave him her best glare possible.

"You promised you wouldn't laugh."

"Vampire Diaries? You know there are real vampires in the world and you watch a show about people pretending to be vampires? I'm sorry but I couldn't help myself. I don't watch much TV and I always look away when I see the show advertised. "

"Well, I didn't know about it until my cousin came over to my place to spend the night. She brought all the season over and we stayed up watching it. After that, I kind of started keeping up with the show. So sorry if I like watching something that gives false advertisement about real vampires!"

Nightmahre sighed a laugh and couldn't hide the second one when Gabrielle kicked him in the leg. Now that she had told him, it was now his turn to tell him his favorite show.

"I would have to say that FX show."

"Which one? There are tons of shows FX show."

"The one with officer in the cowboy hat. I think his name is Raylan. I only saw one show since Sohrrow and my brothers had a TV. But the guy was funny and there was a lot of shooting and action."

"That show's called Justified. And the one named Raylan is a U.S. Marshall. Marshalls and police officers are two different categories of law. While cops have jurisdictions, the whole United States is the Marshalls playground."

Gabrielle could see Nightmahre wanting to get a hold of the first season. She made a mental note to buy him not only the first season but all five. Now that they had their favorite shows out there, Gabrielle figured she might as well ask what else the male liked. When she asked him his favorite movie, she didn't expect him to say anything with the Duke. Gabrielle never took Nightmahre as a John Wayne fan and when she asked him, he defended the dead movie star.

Telling him that her favorite movie was One for the Money, he told Gabrielle his favorite song was Rise of the Valkyries and she told him she didn't have a favorite song. She then told him the music she like listening to the most was back home. Gabrielle did her best to describe the music that was played on the reservation and she could see him imagining it. When he asked her what her favorite book series was, they were already leaving the park and heading back to the Range Rover. The sun would be up in a few hours and Gabrielle could tell they were in no rush to get back to the mansion.

Once she told him her favorite series was from Karen Marie Moning, Nightmahre waited for Gabrielle to stop laughing when he told her his favorite series was Dune. They had turned in the alley towards the Rover when Gabrielle finally stopped laughing.

"But that's like really old."

"But it was a good book series."

"Please! Did you not see—"

Gabrielle went silent. Nightmahre went silent as well when he watched her stop walking. The Rover was in view that it would only take the male eight strides to get to it. But those eight strides felt like a lifetime since something was in the air. Unbuttoning his jacket and placing his hand on the hilt, he looked at Gabrielle. She closed her eyes for a second and then snapped them open.

"Shit!"

Spinning on her heel, she wiped out her gun when someone walked in the alley. She felt Nightmahre press his back to hers when he turned around to face a group of people blocking their exit. Gabrielle cursed to herself because she had been too focused on _lessers_. She had been focused on finding the one enemy she's ever known that she forgot that there was another enemy roaming the streets. She had read their file and tossed it aside since Sam had written that the group hadn't been seen in a while. Now she and Nightmahre were surrounded by the enemy and Gabrielle was facing the leader.

Xcor was standing right in front of her.

* * *

Nightmahre drew out his sword the same time the band of bastards pulled out theirs. He had heard Gabrielle take out her gun and aim it at someone. Fear instantly flooded him when he didn't see the leader in front of him. That meant Gabrielle was facing Xcor, leader of the band of bastards.

Watching the one named Throe step in front of the other bastards, Nightmahre tightened his grip. They were surrounded and outnumbered. Even if Gabrielle saw their future in time, it would take a while to call backup and that was if they had time to make a call.

"Well well well," hummed Xcor.

Gabrielle tightened and Nightmahre felt like screaming. She was alone facing the worst vampire in their race and he didn't know if she knew how to fight him. Nightmahre could imagine the male pulling out his scythe in an attempt to intimidate Gabrielle. He wanted so bad to grab her and run. The only problem was that they would get shot making a run for the Rover and their exits were blocked.

"It seems we have Brother by himself. I think our work just got easier." Nightmahre had been right. He could hear the sound of Xcor flipping his scythe around. "And it seems he's with a human. I didn't know the Brotherhood started working with humans? What about you Throe? Did you know the Brothers recruited a human female?"

"Nope. The idea sounds like a bad joke. But I guess it's okay to try something new once in a while."

"Fuck you," hissed Gabrielle.

"And one with a mouth," laughed Xcor. Hearing him place the blade against the concrete, Nightmahre started seeing red. The sound of the blade was making its way towards them. At the same time, Throe and the others slowly advanced towards him.

"How about you sit on the sidelines, woman? After we take care of this piece of shit, I'll be happy to live up to your deal. And don't worry, I'll share you with my bastards."

A great roar came from behind that Nightmahre flinched for a split second. Then the sound of bullets firing kicked him in action. Quickly sheathing his sword and pulling out the guns the Brothers gave him, Nightmahre fired before the bastards had time to shoot. Using one hand to fire and looping his arm around Gabrielle's waist, Nightmahre threw them behind a dumpster the same time the bastards took cover.

"You fucking bitch!"

Gabrielle shot at Xcor to shut him up. Now that the bastards were returning fire, Nightmahre and Gabrielle were pinned.

Trying to keep them at bay, Nightmahre fired when he watched Gabrielle pull out her cell and press a button. The screen showed Sam's name and that the speaker was on. When the human answered, Nightmahre was sure he could hear the gun shots. Since Sam wasn't an officially with the Brotherhood, they still gave him their numbers in case of emergencies. Nightmahre prayed to the Scribed Virgin that the human would call in the Brothers.

Shoving the phone to safety, Gabrielle closed her eyes as she watched the futures play in front of her. Opening her eyes, she looked at Nightmahre. Ducking down to avoid the bullets, he looked in her eyes to see that she reached her limit.

"We have to hold them off for at least seven minutes. It'll take V at least a minute to triangulate our signal and another four for the Brothers to arm up."

"How do we—damn it!"

A bullet nearly hit Nightmahre in arm. Gabrielle leaped up and fired at the group. Once they ducked back for cover, Gabrielle kneeled down and they checked their clips. They didn't have enough to hold of the bastards for seven minutes. Shoving the clips back in the guns, Nightmahre was about to jump up when Gabrielle grabbed him by his jacket. Practically ripping it from his body, he helped and tossed it aside. Picking up his guns and sliding to his side, Gabrielle looked up and went down when a bullet whizzed over her head.

"We can hold them off if you only focus on Xcor. He's going to come after us while the others fire from behind. I can cover you while you fight him."

"A fight between a sword and a scythe? That'll be interesting."

Gabrielle just grinned like a devil. She then got up to her feet and started firing. Doing as she said, Nightmahre used her cover and ran straight to Xcor. The male didn't waste time. Abandoning his spot, he ran right towards Nightmahre with his scythe at the ready. The two met at the center and collided.

Nightmahre pushed with everything he had and tried to overthrow Xcor. It seemed the leader of the band of bastards was strong because both of them were fighting over footing. The steel in their weapons screeched every time the two so much as flicked a muscle. Both weapons were strong just like their wielders and they refused to break.

Finding no other option, Nightmahre backed up and Xcor cut him right in the shoulder. Now that the male was close, Nightmahre used Gabrielle's move and smashed his head against Xcor's. Feeling the slack, Nightmahre twisted his sword and managed to cut Xcor right above his left eye. Jumping back, Xcor smashed the staff part of his scythe against Nightmahre's wound pushed forward. Trying to keep their footing, both males went at each other with no mercy. When one drew blood, the other one drew more blood. When Nightmahre received a blow from Xcor's scythe, Xcor received a blow as well from Nightmahre's sword. The only thing keeping the two uninterrupted was Gabrielle. The sound of the guns ringing told the two that no one would interrupt their battle.

Fighting in blurs, the males fought so fast that it almost seemed like nothing could touch them. Blood was covering their faces that it was a miracle that they could see. Their bodies shook from sheer exhaustion and they had only been fighting for five minutes. Nightmahre just had to hang in there for another two minutes and the Brothers would be there to help them. But the more Nightmahre and Xcor fought, the more he didn't think he could fight off the male. They were beyond evenly matched that the only way a victor would come is with both of them dead.

Counting down the seconds, Nightmahre roared and charged right at Xcor. Releasing his own roar, Xcor met Nightmahre's challenge and they went at it again.

* * *

It took everything for Gabrielle not to look bad. She had seen Nightmahre's future and almost felt every wound hit her. She saw him heavily wounded and didn't get to see far enough to see who won. The only thing that kept her occupied was Throe and the other bastards who were firing at her. Gabrielle was dangerously low on ammo that she used her last clip to take out the Rover. With the metal beast providing cover, Gabrielle switched over to the one of Nightmahre's guns. She only had one full clip left in the gun.

Trying to remember what happened in her visions, she shot low in an attempt to take out their legs. The only one who she had wounded had been Xcor who hadn't expected her to shoot. Even though she grazed him, she knew it would take more than one bullet to take out the male. Now she just had to keep the others from advancing as much as possible.

When Throe poked out, Gabrielle jumped out from behind the Rover and shot at him. Luckily, a bullet managed to land right where she wanted it to and the male went down. As Zypher and Syphon pulled him out of the way, Gabrielle caught Balthazar making a run for it. When she tried to shoot him down, he returned fire and this time she had to duck for cover. Going down to her knees, she peeked right below the bumper to see the male running towards an alley.

Screaming a curse, there was only one option. Gabrielle didn't see this far and she didn't know what Balthazar was going to do. She had a minute and a half to hold the front lines for the Brothers to come and she had to keep Nightmahre alive. Gabrielle would be damned if she allowed the male to die on her watch.

Sensing time slow down around her, she closed her eyes and forced herself to have one more vision. Going over her limit, it almost felt like she had been hit by an eighteen-wheeler that Gabrielle's body slammed against the Rover. Every ounce of her body ached and her head felt like it was being hit by a sledgehammer. Her vision started fading and she could taste blood running down to her lip. Bringing her hand up, Gabrielle saw that her nose was bleeding and that the color itself was starting to haze out.

Ignoring her screaming body, Gabrielle dropped the gun and ordered her legs to move. Unable to avoid the pain, she bit down on her lip as she saw Nightmahre fight Xcor. The seconds were too close for her to do anything else that this was the only way. This was the only way how to make sure the future she just saw wouldn't come true.

Right when Nightmahre jumped back, Gabrielle threw herself towards him and turned around just in time to see Balthazar appear right in front of her. Even though her mind told her to prepare, nothing could prepare Gabrielle for the bullet that ripped right through her skin and hit her right in the shoulder and collar bone. All she could hear was Nightmahre screaming her name before the lack of blood and pain caused her to black out.


	20. Chapter 20

Chapter Twenty

Life couldn't be crueler. First, the loss of Rhoslyn had been painful enough. But Nightmahre never saw her die before his eyes. Now, as he turned around and watched Gabrielle crumble to the ground, the pain he felt for his dead _shellan _came down on him like a storm. Gabrielle had jumped behind him and taken a bullet that would've killed him instantly. The pain struck him so hard that everything went red the instant Gabrielle's limp body hit the ground.

Screaming out her name, Nightmahre barely felt the scythe cutting through his back and lunged for Gabrielle. When a bullet shot by Balthazar hit him in the shoulder, Nightmahre didn't feel a thing. All Nightmahre could feel was his chest tightening that he feared he would break. His mind was filled with nothing but pure anger that a cruel animalistic instinct was on the verge of taking over. Everything came crashing down the moment he picked up Gabrielle and jumped out of the path of the gun. Even though the bullets grazed him, Nightmahre used his back to shield himself and screamed Gabrielle's name. Blood was pouring out of her wound that it seeped past his fingers when he pressed against it. She wasn't responding when he screamed her name and the color from her face was draining.

Pulling back his hand and staring past the fresh tears at the blood, Nightmahre felt his entire body explode. Slowly standing and looking over his shoulder, his entire vision went red when he looked at Balthazar. The male had regrouped with Xcor and the two were making their way towards them.

Nightmahre flexed his fingers since he had dropped his sword. He raised his upper lip in a snarl and his fangs extended to their full length. With the male who shot Gabrielle in sight, Nightmahre's entire world went blank. No longer caring for his own safety, he charged like a raging beast after Balthazar and crashed right into the male. Catching the bastard off guard, Nightmahre ran both of them right into the building so hard that the bricks cracked under pressure. Roaring like the animal he was, Nightmahre punched Balthazar so hard that he felt three ribs break from impact. Throwing another punch, he broke two more ribs before Xcor grabbed Nightmahre and threw him off Balthazar. Unable to think, Nightmahre attacked Xcor with his bare fists.

Unable to predict his moves, Xcor tried to block the male but failed when Nightmahre grabbed the scythe and used its blade against its wielder. Twisting and turning, he managed to twist the staff part out of Xcor's grip and brought the blade down on Xcor's arm. Dropping his weapon and hissing, Xcor backed up and hissed at Nightmahre. Advancing on the leader, Nightmahre's body didn't register the shots his body was taking. Zypher and Syphon had started shooting at the male and not once did he weaver. He didn't even stop when the blade of a knife entered his back by the hands of Throe. All Nightmahre did was look back and kicked the male. His kick was so strong that it sent Throe flying into a dumpster.

Pulling the knife from his back, Nightmahre growled and took a step towards Xcor. Balthazar was already up but was forced to hold his sides. The male was breathing real hard since he had five broken ribs and he was wobbling to stay balanced. The flash of red returned and Nightmahre roared as he once again charged.

Something hard crashed right into him and slammed him against the building. Barely registering what was happening, Nightmahre screamed as loud as he could and fought back against the intruder. But whatever it was gained extra weight and he was completely pinned. When sound was barely making its way to his ears, he heard multiple gun shots in the alley and shadows were running all around him. Sounds of people yelling started breaking past the anger that was still in control of him that Nightmahre threw everything he had to break free. He was then thrown to the ground and more weight was thrown on top of him.

Out of the corner of his eye, the red from his vision began to fade that Nightmahre watched the band of bastards retreat into the darkness. With what little voice he had left, he screamed so hard that eventually it felt like his throat was bleeding. The impossible strength he had a second ago vanished instantly and pain rode over his body. When he stopped fighting, the weight slowly lifted off his back. Once the red was gone completely, Nightmahre barely saw faces look down at him until the world went dark.

* * *

Sohrrow's entire body was shuddering. Not from exhaustion or adrenaline but out of fear. When Sam had called the Brothers to tell them Nightmahre and Gabrielle were being attacked, Vishous quickly located their signal and everyone loaded up. They didn't know if they were walking in an ambush full of _lessers _or more but they had little choice. So once everyone was ready, they dematerialized and appeared in the spot of the signal. What everyone saw was unbelievable.

Nightmahre was being shot at and had been stabbed by the band of bastards. But when he turned around, everything inside Sohrrow turned to ice. The look of an enraged animal was on his brother's face and the insane strength he had to kick Throe off of him was beyond unbelievable. Sohrrow didn't wait for the Brothers to move. He had never seen his brother on a path to kill this strong after the death of Rhoslyn. The anger Nightmahre had possessed back then had been under control. But the beast charging after Xcor was nothing like then.

Sohrrow ran right at his brother and tackled him across the alley. Even though he caught his brother by surprise, the strength he had just witnessed was about to throw him to the ground when Zsadist slammed against Nightmahre. With the Brother's help, they managed to keep Nightmahre pinned to the wall as everyone else fought of the bastards. V led the attack on the bastards that they eventually retreated. But Sohrrow's attention was on his brother when Nightmahre was slowly lifting himself against their strength.

Not knowing what to do, he and Z threw Nightmahre to the ground and Qhuinn and Blaylock joined them. It took four males to finally subdue Nightmahre. But the sound he was creating sent freezing ice down the males' bodies. The sound Nightmahre was making sounded like a mix between a beast and a man. Pain was clear in the scream and so was intense anger. But what cut Sohrrow to the core was that while Nightmahre screamed himself dry was that his brother was crying. Nightmahre was screaming with everything he had inside him and the tears streaming down his face was like a dam broke in him. It was when he finally stopped making a sound that his body loosened up.

Qhuinn got off first followed by Blay. When Z backed away, Sohrrow hesitated for a second before standing. Nightmahre was out cold and his body was covered in wounds. Blood covered the front of Sohrrow that he was surprised his brother could still fight in the condition he was in. Ehnvy and Phride joined their older brother as the others scanned the area. As he looked down at his brother, Sohrrow wanted to know what would make Nightmahre go crazy. Seeing him a second ago frightened Sohrrow that he was afraid to attack him. Not once in his entire life had Sohrrow been afraid of his brother. Now feeling fear for the first time, he didn't want to feel it again.

Rhage yelled and everyone looked over. That's when Tohr ran towards the Brother and cursed out loud. They were standing behind some dumpsters that Sohrrow couldn't see why they were so panicked. Ordering his younger brothers to take care of Nightmahre, Sohrrow ran over to see what was going on. Then he stopped in his tracks. Covered in blood and barely hanging on to life, Gabrielle laid unconscious on the ground. A bullet wound was right between her shoulder blade and her collar bone and that was where the blood was flowing out. Seeing the human in this condition, Sohrrow finally understood why his brother went crazy. If they didn't get Gabrielle back to the mansion immediately, she was going to bleed to death.

Right when Rhage and Tohrment picked up Gabrielle by her arms, the Escalade skidded right in front of the alley. Butch was about to get out when V threw open the back door and they placed Gabrielle inside. Ehnvy and Phride rushed over with Nightmahre in their arms and tried to fit him in the vehicle. With both of them secured in the Escalade, Sohrrow jumped in the back and V hopped in the passenger seat. Butch stomped on the gas and the Escalade lurched forward as they took off.

"How are they doing?" ordered V.

Sohrrow checked the two. But his attention was drawn to Gabrielle first. She was already bleeding all over the seat. Forgetting about his brother for a second, Sohrrow managed to take off Gabrielle's jacket and checked her back. There wasn't an exit wound which meant the bullet was still inside her.

"We need to get her to Jane fast. Gabrielle still has the bullet lodged in her and she's bleeding all over the place."

"What about Nightmahre?"

"He's fine! Just get us to the mansion!"

Nothing else was said. Butch was pushing the Escalade to its limit while Sohrrow tried to stop the bleeding. He was so caught up in saving Gabrielle that he didn't notice them driving past the gateway that protected the Brotherhood's mansion. Still speeding, Butch nearly crashed them in the garage. Jan and Manny were already ready with two gurneys and they were running towards the vehicle. Jumping out and throwing the doors wide open, V and Sohrrow pulled out Nightmahre while Butch carried Gabrielle in his harms. Placing the two on the gurneys, they were rushed inside.

Not knowing what to do, Sohrrow watched as Nightmahre and Gabrielle were taken into two separate operating rooms. V had gone in with Jan who had taken Gabrielle while Ehlena rushed past him to help Manny with Nightmahre. Once the doors closed behind them, Sohrrow stood in the hallway by himself.

Feeling like he would fall any second, he leaned against the wall and slid down all the way to the floor. Forgetting he was covered in blood, Sohrrow sat in the hallway staring at the doors with a blank face. It felt like he had fallen into a nightmare and couldn't wake up. Sohrrow was still terrified of his brother and scared for Gabrielle. He had seen the relationship between the two slowly take route and he hoped the human could help his brother. Sohrrow had been right. But he never thought Nightmahre would go on frenzy when Gabrielle was hurt. Sohrrow just thought they were friends. He knew his brother wasn't ready for another lover. How blinded he had been. Nightmahre had taken bullets and multiple wounds as he sought revenge for the ones who wounded Gabrielle. How blinded Sohrrow had been for not seeing the love Nightmahre held for her.

Time had slipped past Sohrrow that he failed to notice he was alone. Placing a gently hand on his shoulder, Sohrrow looked up to his _shellan. _Lhyra sat down next to him and rested her head on his chest. Taking his arm and wrapping it around her shoulders, he brought her close to him and buried his face in her hair. It was later that the Brothers started coming down to see if things were okay. Ehnvy and Phride sat next to their brother with their _shellans _in their arms as they waited for the news. To Sohrrow's surprise, after seeing all the Brotherhood and their females in the hallway waiting, Sam appeared out of nowhere.

Something inside Sohrrow tensed. He knew he should be grateful for the human or Nightmahre and Gabrielle would be dead. But it was the way how the human kept his cool and showed nothing in his eyes that Sohrrow though he was looking at a doll. Sam just stuffed his hands in his pockets and leaned against the wall. His composure was spot one and his breathing was so shallow that Sohrrow barely heard him breathe. There was little light those jade eyes until they were dark as steel.

Sam was quickly forgotten when Jane walked out first. Everyone jumped to their feet to hear the news. Then V came out with a tired expression on his face. Sohrrow was expecting for Jane to say something. Instead, she looked straight at Sam.

"Sam, may I have a word with you."

Nodding, the two walked down the hallway until no one could hear what they were talking about. When Sohrrow's brothers looked at him, he just shook his head. If Jane needed to talk to Sam about Gabrielle, then the human was the best to answer questions. He just wanted to know if his older brother was okay.

* * *

_"Wake up."_

A voice echoed. It started out low that Nightmahre barely heard it. But when the voice spoke again, it was louder and more urgent. When it called, Nightmahre's eyes fluttered open but all he saw was darkness. Thinking this was only a dream, he closed them and allowed the darkness to engulf him.

_"I said wake up!"_

The voice thundered in his head that Nightmahre snapped his eyes wide open. But once he did, light flooded his sight that it automatically blinded him. Lurching forward and nearly falling off what felt like a bed, he gasped for air and leaned on his side. For a moment, Nightmahre was blind and there were voices all around him. Unaware of his surrounding, when a hand touched him on his bare skin, he reacted by jumping off the bed and wrapping the person in a headlock.

There was a scream and the sound of a door being thrown open. Sensing déjà vu, Nightmahre was tackled and hit the wall with his back. Pain rode through his body that it was the person who was holding him up and not himself. Blinking for a few times, the light started darkening until he could see clearly again. Sohrrow was holding him back with his arm against his throat and Manny was on the floor clutching his neck. Ehlena was standing by the bed with a frightened look on her face.

"Night?"

Nightmahre couldn't speak. It wasn't because Sohrrow was blocking his throat. When Nightmahre tried to speak, his voice scratched all over that he thought his throat might crack into a million pieces. Instead of speaking, he nodded and his brother eased up. But when Nightmahre was about to fall over, Sohrrow caught his brother and guided him back to the bed.

Now that everyone was on the same page, Manny finished checking Nightmahre and told him that as long as he didn't go out on patrol for four days that he would recover alright. Giving the human a nod, he and Ehlena left the brothers. Once they were completely alone, Sohrrow sat next to Nightmahre and sighed.

"Don't you dare scare us like that again," he sighed.

Swallowing a couple of times, Nightmahre tried to speak. It hurt just to draw a single breath. The last time he was like this was when Rhoslyn died and he had stayed silent for decade just to recover his voice. But the last thing he remembered pained him more than his throat. He had to know what happened after he went crazy.

"Gabrielle," he croaked.

Sohrrow didn't say anything. When his brother didn't answer him after his question, worst came to mind. Gabrielle had been bleeding badly that Nightmahre realized she could've bled out and he failed to save her. He was the reason for her death. The pain he was feeling right now was in no comparison to the way the remains of his heart was feeling.

"She's still asleep."

The pain halted. Looking at his brother, Nightmahre fought against the roughness of his voice and demanded for answers. It was harder than he though since he kept flinching every time he spoke.

Holding up his hands for him to slow down, Sohrrow waited for him to stop talking. When he did, Nightmahre watched his brother get up and head for the door. At first, he thought he was supposed to follow and tried to stand up. But when he was halfway there, Sohrrow stepped aside and Jane walked in with Sam right behind her. As Sohrrow took his seat back next to his brother, Jane sat down on one of the rolling chairs and Sam sat on the corner of the desk.

"Nightmahre, I need you to answer me a couple of questions," spoke Jane. "I understand you can't speak right now. So you can just nod since they'll be simple yes or no questions. Can you do that?"

Nightmahre nodded.

"When you were fighting the band of bastards, did Gabrielle reach her limit on visions?"

Nightmahre nodded again. Jane looked up at Sam and the human looked away. Rubbing her eyes, Jane looked back at Nightmahre. The way how she was looked at him worried Nightmahre.

"While the two of you were fighting, you were fighting Xcor by yourself. Manny had told me most of your wounds had been done by a sharp blade and I'm aware that the leader of the bastards has a scythe. So I know for a fact that you were fighting Xcor by yourself. Did Gabrielle by chance jump and take a bullet for you?"

Nightmahre didn't need to nod. His entire body shuddered from the terrible memory. He was fighting Xcor, believing that Gabrielle was providing cover. He had wronged her by relying too much on her cover. Nightmahre should've checked to make sure she wasn't taking too much. Then he watched as she jumped right behind him and fall.

"Why?" he murmured.

"Damn it, Gabrielle."

Nightmahre's head snapped up at Sam. He was staring at the wall but Nightmahre still saw the human's face. Sam's eyes had narrowed so much that the green almost glowed and he bared his teeth as if to bite something in half.

"It seems Gabrielle had another vision," answered Jane.

"No! She couldn't have!" The last sentence came out in coughs since Nightmahre was yelling. Then he couldn't talk at all because he was coughing for air. Sohrrow patted him on the back until the fit passed. When he was done, he looked at Jane.

"I'm afraid you're wrong. Gabrielle had a vision and it took its toll on her." She pulled out a rubber band and flexed her fingers on the rubber. "Think of her visions like this band. I can extend it so far until I know it'll break. That's just like Gabrielle's visions. Her limit is twenty-six and that's as many visions her body can take. But if I pull the band any further, it'll break. That's what the twenty-seventh vision did."

Since he couldn't speak, Nightmahre tilted his head.

"Gabrielle's body broke under the strain of visions that she received major damage. Her body, as of now, is no good. While it took her a full day to recuperate from her limit, we don't know how long she'll be asleep this time. There is damage to her organs, bones and small portions of her brain that when she wakes up, she might not be fit for battle let alone walk."

When Jane finished, her words came crashing down on Nightmahre. This was worse than her being dead. Because of Nightmahre, Gabrielle was probably hurt beyond repair. He had forced her to have another vision that she might not be able to fight ever again. And if he was the reason why she wouldn't be able to move around, Fade be damned. Nightmahre was ready to take his life if necessary. Better yet, he would strike any bargain the Scribed Virgin would make. If it meant he would never pass over to be with Rhoslyn, so be it.

"How long?"

"Our best guess is that she might wake up in two or three days. Even though her body is damaged, it seems it can function longer than a normal human can. Her body can keep her alive for about five days without the need for food or water. Let's hope that's as long as it'll take for her to wake up. But when she does, I'm going to need you to tell me immediately. If not, I don't want her to so much as to set a foot on the floor. She is to stay in bed until I deem her worth."

Jane's words were clear. All Nightmahre could do was nod for her to leave. Sam stayed for a second before leaving as well. Sohrrow stayed put. He stayed by his brother's side that Nightmahre didn't mind the over caring.

"I did this," he whispered.

"No, you didn't. I'm sure Gabrielle knew the risk she was taking when she had that vision. She must've been worried for you that all she could do was jump."

"But—"

"But nothing. You know her better than me and I'm sure you know she'll pull out of it. Gabrielle's a fighter. A bullet couldn't take her down if it was the last bullet on the planet. She'll wake up and be pissed that she can't move around. Then it'll be you job to get her back in shape so she can go seek her own revenge on the bastards."

Nightmahre listened to his brother and couldn't help himself from smiling. Sohrrow was right as usual. Gabrielle wasn't the woman who would allow a bullet to put her down. And she would defiantly be pissed being bedridden. Nightmahre could already imagine her annoyance. The thought of her awake and mad eased his pain. He would see to Gabrielle until she was beating his ass all over the mat and ready to go back on the streets.

As he imagined the future, Nightmahre realized whose voice had called to him. Never in his life would he fail to recognize Rhoslyn's voice. His _shellan _had brought him back here for a reason and now he understood. Remembering Gabrielle getting hurt had torn a deep wound in Nightmahre. He never wanted to see her hurt again. That meant he could no longer deny what he had been denying since the night he saw her. Now it was her choice if she would deny him or not.


	21. Chapter 21

Chapter Twenty One

It had been three days since anyone saw Nightmahre. He had not once left his room and started having his meals brought up to him. When it became day four, Sohrrow decided that it was time to check on his brother. During those days, not once did Gabrielle show any sign of waking up. She was still in her coma state that the days were now ticking down against her. If Jane was right, her body wouldn't be able to hold up much longer.

Walking down the hallway, Sohrrow easily found his brother's room and was about to knock when he heard someone grumbling. Looking down the hall, he watched as Lassiter walked in his direction with a bunch of bags labeled Barnes & Noble. In his left hand were three bags filled with books and in the other were two bags filled with what looked like DVDs. When the angel saw Sohrrow, he stomped over to him and thrust the bags in his hands. Curious as to what were in the bags, Sohrrow took a peek and his eyebrows shot up. He then looked at Lassiter.

"What the hell am I supposed to do with these?"

"Ask your brother! Making me go out during my free time and find these things. Why can't he go and do his own shopping?"

Ranting by himself, Lassiter turned and left the hall. Sohrrow just stood by the door with the bags in his hands. Peeking at the containments, he was wondering what he was supposed to do with the complete Highlander series, the Fever series, all four box seasons of the Vampire Diaries and the movie One for the Money.

Still confused, Sohrrow knocked on the door. Just like last time, no one answered.

"Yo, Night? I'm coming in."

Sohrrow turned the knob and slowly eased the door open. All the lights were off that Sohrrow had to widen the door just to get some light. When his brother didn't appear from the shadows, Sohrrow found a table covered with dishes and placed the bags on the surface. It was when the bags crackled did he hear someone move around.

"Damn it, Night. You know better not to scare me. You were never good at it when we were young and you'll never be good at it."

When Sohrrow turned to see his brother trying to scare him, he was nowhere in sight. Instead, as Sohrrow scanned the room, his eyes saw something on the bed. With the light coming from the hallway, it was there that Sohrrow finally saw Nightmahre. But the male wasn't alone in the bed. In deep sleep, Nightmahre was holding Gabrielle in his arms. While Gabrielle was covered under mountains of blankets, Nightmahre was sleeping with only one blanket on top of him. His hair had escaped its tie that his black hair merged with Gabrielle's. Nightmahre had one strong arm wrapped protectively around her waist to keep her close to him while his other hand was entwined with hers. When it looked like it was he who had closed his fingers around hers, it was apparent that in her sleep, Gabrielle had entangled her fingers in Nightmahre's.

With them so close, Gabrielle's head rested against Nightmahre's chest while his chin rested on top of her head. Their breathing was at the same tempo that it almost looked like they were breathing together. When Gabrielle's eyes flickered under her eyelids as if she were dreaming, Nightmahre's flickered a second after. Then his hold on her waist tightened and he brought her closer to him. The only movement Gabrielle made was her hand tightening its hold on his.

Sohrrow had his believes that Gabrielle was the reason why Nightmahre hadn't left his room. Now he understood that until she woke up, his brother wasn't leaving her side at all. Seeing him holding her the way he was proved that he wasn't going to take his eyes off of her once. Nightmahre truly cared about Gabrielle.

Since his brother wasn't going to be waking up anytime soon, Sohrrow followed the light back outside and closed the door. Making sure it was closed all the way, he turned to head for Last Meal when he saw Phride leaning against the wall. His brother nodded towards the door and Sohrrow shook his head.

"So we won't be seeing him for a while?"

"Not until Gabrielle wakes."

"Man, I knew he had it for the female. I just didn't think it was this strong."

Sohrrow quirked his eyebrow. Phride snickered and looked at his brother. It seemed that the second oldest had been out of the loop on something because Phride patted him on the shoulder. "Everyone knows Night likes Gabrielle," he said. "We were waiting until things got serious between them. But with the whole band of bastards attack, it's clear to everyone that our brother loves her."

Looking at his little brother, Sohrrow patted him on the shoulder as well and laughed. Now he wasn't the only one waiting for his brother to make the move. The whole damn Brotherhood was waiting.

As the two were walking down the stairs, Phride stopped Sohrrow one last time.

"I was hoping Night would join us tonight. Ehmma and I were going to tell everyone something important and I wanted him to be with us."

"And what would that be?"

Phride looked away with glee in his eyes. Sohrrow didn't need to hear the words. He braced his brother in a hug and Phride hugged back. They gave each other a pat on the back and walked down together. It seemed that even though Pride was the youngest of the brothers, he beat them first on one thing.

When they finally made it down the stairs, Phride walked up to Ehmma and kissed her. He then placed his hand over her stomach and smiled. Ehmma kissed her _hellren _once more and then led him to the dining room. Sohrrow was still standing on the last step when Lhyra approached him.

"What's with that smile on your face?" she asked.

"Nothing. Just thinking about the future."

* * *

Something smelled nice. Nuzzling her nose closer to the scent, Gabrielle sighed and twitched her nose. The scent almost smelled like fresh rain mixed with cool air. It was so tantalizing that she tried to get as close to it as possible. Something above her sighed and tightened its hold around her waist. When she felt what seemed to be an arm, Gabrielle arched her back and stretched her legs. Stretching them to the point where they felt like they would fall off, she relaxed and found something to wrap them around.

Using her legs to pull her even closer to the scent, Gabrielle buried her head against something hard. It was when she felt something go up and down did her eyes flutter open. The first thing she saw was a hard chest. Then she looked past the chest up to the head resting on top of hers. It was then did she see Nightmahre's sleeping face.

"Oh my God!"

Her shriek was so loud that Nightmahre bolted up and Gabrielle nearly fell off the bed. It was because her legs were tangled in layers of blankets and a strong leg that she didn't fall off. Unwinding her legs and sitting straight up, she was about to shriek again when it felt like a thousand pounds of concrete hit her head. Clutching her head from sheer pain, she placed her head between her legs in an attempt to stop the pounding.

Two strong arms found their way around her shoulder and pulled her close. When she looked up, she saw Nightmahre holding her tight against him with worried eyes. Taking a whiff of him, Gabrielle realized that the smell of rain and air was coming off of him. Looking past the pain, Gabrielle noticed something different about Nightmahre. Besides the wounds that still had their stitches on them, his eyes had changed. They held such worry and great warmth that she just wanted to bury herself deep in him. The way how he was holding her made her feel safe, almost like the world couldn't touch her.

When the pounding subsided, she relaxed and slumped against Nightmahre. He never loosened his hold on her that Gabrielle almost fell asleep in his arms. But she fought the sleep off. She remembered everything that happened. Her last vision had done something to her because her body felt so weak. It took everything in her just to stay awake.

"You're okay," she whispered.

"Yeah. I'm here," he whispered back. Placing his finger under her chin, he tilted her head up so he could look down at her. "Don't you dare do that again. Don't you dare go past your limit ever again. I thought I lost you."

Gabrielle stared into Nightmahre's eyes. She saw the fear from his words clear as day. She had scared him so much that he thought she was going to die. But she didn't have any other option. The vision came so fast that she didn't have time to come up with a plan. She either had to jump in to safe him or Nightmahre would've died. And she wasn't going to lose him that easily.

"How long have I been out?"

"Going on four days."

She had been out that long? No wonder her body felt so weak. Gabrielle had been out for four days because of that last vision. She could feel the major toll it took on her body that she feared to even get off the bed. And the way how Nightmahre was holding her, she had a feeling that he wasn't about to let her.

As Gabrielle looked in Nightmahre's eyes, she felt like she had to do something. So using the strength she had, she leaned up and touched his lips with hers. Almost instantly, Nightmahre's arms tightened their hold that she was brought up just a bit. His other hand ran through her black hair until he was cradling the back of her head. With her in his arms, Nightmahre gently brought her down to where she was under him. Removing his arm around her waist, Nightmahre's hand traveled down her side all the way down to her thigh.

His touch on her bare skin forced Gabrielle to hiss. Nightmahre smothered her hiss with his lips. Placing her hand on his bare chest, Gabrielle ran her hand down his chest until they touched the fabric of his sweats. Going past the waist band and finding what she was looking for, her hands stroked his cock that Nightmahre growled. Slowly stroking him, Gabrielle pulled back to watch the male on top of her shudder from her touch.

"Gabrielle," he growled.

"Enkoodabooaoo," she whispered.

Just like before, he asked her what the name meant. But this time it came as a pant. At first, Gabrielle didn't want to tell him. Then she remembered the vision she had so long ago. She remembered him claiming her as his and had called him by that name. Gabrielle had nearly forgotten about the vision. Now as she pondered over Nightmahre's question, she decided to change the future just a bit. After all, it was a future she knew she could change.

"Enkoodabooaoo. It means 'one who lives alone'."

Nightmahre gently pulled Gabrielle's hand away from his cock and brought it right next to her head.

"Why would you give me such a name?"

"It was when you and your brothers fought the Brotherhood. I was watching you fight and that was the name that came to. At first, it matched you so much. But lately, it seems that you need a new name."

Kissing her once more, Nightmahre brought his hand between Gabrielle's legs where it rested right at the vee. The touch brought a blast of heat that Gabrielle began to squirm.

"Then what should my new name be?" As he asked, Nightmahre shifted his hand that it rubbed against her. Another wave of heat ran through Gabrielle that the torture was becoming too much for her.

Looking up at the male, she thought. Nightmahre had changed so much that Enkoodabooaoo no longer suited him. He was now part of the Brotherhood and was slowly making progress in renewing his ties with his brothers. Around her, Nightmahre was the total opposite of the male she saw days ago. He no longer looked like the male who would try to die to be with his _shellan_. The broken parts in him were mending at a slow pace to where the Nightmahre she saw were gone. Staring down at her with those golden wolf eyes was the Nightmahre she cared for so deeply she was willing to throw away her life for him.

"Hohnihohkaiyohos."

"And what does that mean?"

"It means 'high-backed wolf'."

"I like that one way better."

That was the last thing Gabrielle said. Sitting up just a bit, Nightmahre kept his gaze on her as he removed her shirt. He made another growl when he palmed one of Gabrielle's breasts. Her breathing sped when Nightmahre pinched one of her nipples and sealed his lips over the other one. Her body arched up and she whimpered as he sucked. Her whimper turned into a soft sob when she felt Nightmahre pull her shorts off. No longer wearing anything, Gabrielle muffled her cry when Nightmahre placed one finger inside her.

Letting go of her nipple, he watched her squirm under his touch. She knew he could feel the heat under his palm. He knew she wanted him so much. Now here she was, waiting for him to make the next move.

As if understanding her plea, Nightmahre quickly removed his sweats. Once he free of his clothes, Gabrielle swallowed. Nightmahre was big just like any other Brothers. She figured that if he was big so would be every part of him. But as she looked, she saw that he was way bigger than she thought.

"I want you, Gabrielle. I've wanted you since the night I laid eyes on you. Now there is nothing holding me back. I'm going to take you so every male that looks at you will know you're mine. You are mine and mine alone."

Gabrielle could only nod.

Releasing her and spreading her legs far apart, Nightmahre positioned himself right in the center. Gabrielle whimpered when he entered her. A wave of pain and pleasure swept through her body like nothing she felt before. It intensified when he was halfway inside her. Crying out his name, Gabrielle wrapped her legs around Nightmahre's waist. A dominant growl came from the male as he thrust himself all the way inside her. Nightmahre silenced her scream by kissing her and swallowing whatever sound she made.

Now that he was inside her, he began to move. Every time he pulled out only to come back in, Gabrielle whimpered in his mouth. Nightmahre's entire body tensed every time he pumped himself in her. The male inside him wanted to mark her so no one else would dare look at his female. He wanted his scent all over her to state she was his.

Pulling away from her lips, Nightmahre watched Gabrielle under him every time he moved. Her breasts swayed up and down and she cried for him. The tension in her legs tightened her hold around his waist every time he moved. Gabrielle had reached above her head and was gripping the headboard with all her strength. If she could, Nightmahre was sure she would've left claw marks in the wood.

At first, he wanted to go slow. This was his first time in a very long time and he didn't want to hurt Gabrielle. He had almost exploded when he entered her. Her body had tightened around him that he was so close to losing it. Now with him inside her and watching her under him, Nightmahre's control was fading fast.

Collecting Gabrielle in his arms and pushing her up against the headboard, she cried at every thrust. Nightmahre was done being soft. He needed to take her now. Bringing his hips back, he moved inside her to the point where he felt himself coming. Gabrielle wrapped her arms around his neck and held fast. The touch of her soft breasts against his skin made Nightmahre thrust deeper inside her. Going in and out, Nightmahre braced himself the moment Gabrielle's limps wrapped around him tightened.

With one strong thrust, the orgasm ripped through both of them. Gabrielle screamed out and a powerful growl came from Nightmahre. When it passed, Gabrielle's hold on him loosened. Taking one deep breath, Nightmahre could smell the dark spices all over her body. A dark smile formed on his lips. Gabrielle was now his.

"You are now mine, Gabrielle. And you will always be mine."


	22. Chapter 22

Chapter Twenty Two

Two weeks. Two weeks of no fighting, training or seeing the future. Two bloody weeks of staying in bed and not leaving without someone carrying her. Fourteen fucking days without anything to do but stay in bed. Gabrielle practically screamed inside when Jane gave her the orders. No way in hell could Gabrielle stay in bed for two weeks if her life depended on it. And her life did depend on it. Jane even gave Nightmahre permission to do whatever it took to keep her in bed.

Nightmahre didn't have a problem. In fact, the first four days were productive. The only time the male left was to retrieve some food since Gabrielle was beyond starving. But after they finished their meals and an episode of Vampire Diaries, Nightmahre would make love to Gabrielle over and over until both of them were too tired to move. They would then doze off with Gabrielle in Nightmahre's arms until the next night.

On the fifth day, Nightmahre woke up to see the ceiling above him. Breathing in and out, he looked down to see Gabrielle sleeping on his chest. He had a protective arm around her waist while her arms were snug around his chest. Her hair covered him in a sea of midnight and disappeared in his own black hair. With the blankets resting right below her waist, Nightmahre used his free hand to trace the old wounds that were permanently written in her skin. He never asked how she got the wounds. Nightmahre thought that since she could see the future that there wouldn't be a single scar on her. Tracing the old shrapnel wounds, his hand glided over the exit wound on her back. The only wound that Nightmahre couldn't trace was the one because of him. A tiny stab of pain caused him to flinch. Gabrielle would forever be scared because he failed to keep her safe.

A soft sigh came from Gabrielle's lips. Her eyes then fluttered open and she looked down at Nightmahre. Every time she woke up in her arms, Nightmahre felt the pieces that had been broken inside him heal. He loved Gabrielle. His love was all over her and he was proud that she was his. All he was waiting for was for her to tell him she loved him.

"Morning," she whispered.

Nightmahre didn't have to say anything. He just wiped a strand from her face and leaned up to kiss her. Meeting him halfway, Gabrielle helped deepen the kiss before pulling back. A low moan came from Nightmahre, almost like an animal annoyed that it was being denied something more.

When they didn't move, the both of them laid there on the bed. Gabrielle rested her head right under Nightmahre's chin as his hand moved up and down her back. But when he stopped, Gabrielle looked up at him. He had wanted to ask her about her past and he knew she wanted to do the same thing. Even though they knew not to cross the line, Nightmahre wanted to know about Gabrielle's past and why she started hunting _lessers_.

His face must've shown his thoughts because Gabrielle looked away and placed her head back in place. Nightmahre could feel her body tense under his touch before relaxing. She must've come with the same conclusion. After the time they had been spending, it was time to break some ice and see if they would fall through.

"Where did you get these wounds?"

She didn't speak at first. But when she did, Nightmahre didn't miss the pain in her words. "When Sam and I were in Afghanistan, there were four other guys in our unit who we were close to. Their names were Danny, Ryan, Jose and Aaron. We were tight. In fact, The Pack was named after us. We were so close that everyone started calling us The Pack. While we were stationed, we thought of each other as family. Told our likes and dislikes. Nothing was hidden."

"Did they know about your visions?"

"Hell yeah. During one of our patrols, I looked a few minutes and saw an ambush coming. Because of me, we got out of there without losing anyone. That's when the guys found out what I could do."

"What happened?"

She shrugged like it was no big deal. "We kept it in the circle. The guys were cool with my ability. But they also figured it took a toll on me if I had too many. Back then, my limit was pathetic. I hadn't exercised my ability that I could only see ten visions at max. Compared today, completely pathetic. It was them who told me not to look in the future unless it was an emergency. They didn't care that they had a secret weapon. They cared about me that they didn't want me to get hurt. We never talked about my visions. It was almost like it didn't exist."

Nightmahre had a feeling the story was about to head south. He waited for Gabrielle to speak since she went silent. The memories of her friends must've been too much because he could feel Gabrielle struggling to speak.

"Then, one day, I had a vision against my will. I saw Danny, Aaron and Jose die from a land mine. Before I told them what I saw, I tried to see their futures again. But I couldn't. I couldn't see anyone's future. My dad had told me about those kinds of visions. He told me that if I ever saw a vision that I didn't will for and couldn't see the person's future, that meant what I saw was to happen and nothing could be done about it. That was a future that was written in stone. I saw my friends die and I was helpless to do change their futures."

Nightmahre waited. "Then what?" he asked.

"I told them. I told them what would happen. But they said that it was war. They knew they would either die or come back for the next tour. When I tried to tell them I couldn't see their futures anymore, they told me to make peace with what was about to happen. The vision was never clear on when or where it would happen. Another thing my dad told me was that the vision wouldn't give itself away as to when and where. It just happened. I dreaded the day it would happen. But that day came too fast. It was the next day when we were on a mission that everything was coming clear. And I was right behind them when they stepped on the mine. I got front row seats to watch my friends die. These wounds are from the remains of the plate that penetrated my gear. They're a reminder of the day I lost three of my closest friends."

It was quiet for a while. Nightmahre took in Gabrielle's words. It seemed that there were visions that she couldn't change. From the way how she spoke, it must've been horrible to know her friends were going to die and actually watch it happen. The sense of feeling powerless was all too familiar to Nightmahre. He had been powerless to save Rhoslyn. The death itself had sent him over. He wondered how Gabrielle managed to continue on after seeing and witnessing her friends' deaths.

No wonder she refused to talk about them that night. Digging up wounds from the past was painful enough. Thinking about them and talking about them must've been terrible for Gabrielle. Nightmahre could feel her clutching to him as she spoke. He had never seen her so vulnerable that it frightened him. He loved seeing the defiant Gabrielle who wouldn't take shit. He enjoyed watching her cockiness and defiance. Seeing her in this state pained him.

To give her time to collect herself, it was now Nightmahre's turn to speak.

"I actually wanted to be a Brother."

Gabrielle propped herself up and looked down. Curiosity shinned in her eyes. The distraction was working and Nightmahre already threw himself out there. It was time to take down the last barriers between them.

"Before I went through my transition, the only thing I wanted to do was become a Brother. I was an only child at the time and I always looked up to my father. My father had been with the Brotherhood for a few centuries that they only remembered him as a heartless male. Then he met our _mahmen_, our mother. She was a Chosen and had been sent to wed a male from the _glymera_. My father, at the time, had never been wooed by beauty. But he was the one sent to escort her to the male. After spending time with our _mahmen_, he fell in love with her. He loved her so much that it pained him to let her go."

"But he didn't, did he?"

"No. The male that the Brothers remembered over time was about to crash the ceremony when the Scribed Virgin refused to wed them. It was that same day did they wed. It was not long after my father left the Brotherhood. He left his life as a warrior behind and spent a time of peace with our _mahmen_. Then I was born. I wanted to be the son who would redeem my father's name and become the best Brother."

"Whoa. It seems vampires and humans have the same dreams. You wanted to follow in your father's footsteps and so did I."

"My dream was short-lived. After my transition, I trained nonstop in preparation to join the Brotherhood. My brothers were already getting ready to go through their own transitions. There were times when my father would ask me if joining was really what I wanted. My answer was always the same. It was my dream to join the Brotherhood. But only weak before, something distracted me."

"Or someone. Was it Rhoslyn who stopped you?"

He was tongue-tied. Gabrielle didn't seem surprised. In fact, she seemed interested. Then Nightmahre remembered that she knew about the vampires and their ways. His _shellan's _name on his back was no miss. Since Gabrielle knew about their world, she probably already knew what it meant when a male had his female's name carved into their skin.

"Rhoslyn was a female from the _glymera_. I figured I never had a shot. I had only seen her from a distance a few times that I would've just faded away in her memory. But when I spoke to her that one time, we started seeing each other. It turned out that she wanted to know more about me. Rhoslyn was a gentle soul. She always smiled when there was nothing to smile about. She saw well in people when they were dirty to the core. It was like the darkness in the world couldn't touch her. And when her parents began looking for suitors, she refused to have the ceremony unless it was with me."

The memory was already in his head. Nightmahre remembered in his black robes, watching Rhoslyn walk up the aisle in her ceremony dress. She had chosen to wear a forest green color and the dress hugged her in every way. Her family watched her with pride, knowing that she would be safe with a son trained by a former Brother. Nightmahre's father stood by his side, proud of his son for building his own future. His _mahmen _had tears of joy in her eyes. Sohrrow and Ahnger, who had just gone through their transition together, smiled at their older brother. Ehnvy was still a couple years away from his transition. Phride hadn't been born yet.

"We were mated for a century and a half. We were happy together." He didn't have to say the rest. But since Gabrielle spoke of her friends, it was his turn to say what he had always feared of thinking. "One night, when I was coming home from hunting, there was a fire. I could see the light from miles. Our house was the only one in the mountains where we lived and no one lived near us for miles. I knew it was our house that was burning. When I made it, everything was on fire. The stench of _lessers _was everywhere even though they had left. Our home was on fire and Rhoslyn was by the doorway. She was dead before the bastards torched the house."

Unlike _lessers _today, the ones back then weren't animals when it came to females. They had given Rhoslyn a quick death and nothing else. They didn't beat her or touch her. They just waited until she was alone and shot her in the heart. Then they burned the very home Nightmahre built with his two hands. He lost everything in one night and could never get it back. That was the reason why he began hunting _lessers_. He would hunt his enemy until the day he died in battle. But his determination was fading and he was alright with it. It was so fast that his whole world was slowly revolving around Gabrielle. She was now his reason to keep on living.

He had spoken his reason for hunting the enemy. Gabrielle knew that it was her turn in doing so. How naïve she had been back then. She was like any other human, believing that vampires were nothing but legend. Being raised a Cheyenne, she believed that there were spirits in the world guiding and watching over people. Then she had the vision.

"Ryan was a local here. Sam lived in Texas and I lived in Wyoming. Even though I had survived the blast, I was given an honorable discharge for my wounds. Sam and Ryan were discharged as well and we were sent back home. Sam didn't have plans to return to Texas. He didn't have any family and no responsibilities. When we were overseas, he talked about opening up a bar. Since it was now just the three of us, Ryan, Sam and I decided to help make that dream come true. We earned the money ourselves, lived with what we had and had the skeleton of The Pack already built."

Bringing the covers with her, Gabrielle sat against the headboard. Nightmahre sat up as well, waiting for her to continue her story.

"The Pack was close to halfway when I had a vision. Just like before, it came without my command. I saw Ryan murdered by a _lesser_. At first, I thought it was a mugging-gone-wrong. But the thing worse about the vision was that it came true hours later. I was supposed to meet up with Ryan when I saw him approached by three _lessers_. They were there to recruit Ryan since they knew he was a soldier. When he refused them, they shot him. Shot him with his back turned away. Not only was I furious about the vision happening so fast, I was enraged because I watched another friend die and his killers had the nerve to kill him when he wasn't even looking. My rage took over because I attacked them. It was easy to kill two of them. But the last _lesser _was stronger, older. Watching him bleed black and smell like baby powder threw me off that I let my guard down. I woke up in the hospital next morning with a bullet wound that missed my heart."

"That's why you started hunting _lessers_. You watched your friend die by their hand and almost died as well."

"Yeah. I had no clue about them that I started looking for them in visions. I wanted to find the son of a bitch that killed Ryan that Sam joined me on the hunt. It only took me four days to track down the same _lesser_. But when Sam and I were about to jump him, imagine my complete shock when I saw the Brotherhood swoop in out of nowhere and kill all of the _lessers_. Finding out vampires were real and that a secret war has been raging on without us knowing was just beyond believe. So I started looking into the Brothers' futures. After that, Sam and I knew everything. That's when we started hunting the _lessers _and hiding in the shadows just like you and your brothers."

Nightmahre didn't need to hear the rest. He knew Gabrielle became obsessed with hunting the enemy that they were slowly connecting the dots. It was clear that the city held too many terrible memories for her that she left. She wanted to leave the live she built here and start over in her home. Sam had said he got out just in time. His part made sense since he was the owner of The Pack and hadn't been hunting over the five years. Sam had stayed hidden in plain sight that the _lessers _eventually forgot about the humans that hunted them.

Shifting around, Gabrielle rested her head on Nightmahre's shoulder. After their time together, the male knew when she was done talking. They had just told one another their darkest secrets that no one would ever know. They had just trusted the other to never utter a word to the others unless they said so. And Nightmahre would never speak of this unless Gabrielle was the one who spoke. He wanted to be the only male she turned to when she needed to speak. He wanted to be the lover he knew she wanted so much.

Drawing her closer, he wrapped his arm around her shoulders and gently pulled. A soft sigh escaped her lips that Nightmahre felt his heart jump. He loved her so much that he wanted to wash away the dirt that found its way on her. Nightmahre never wanted to see her suffer the way how she spoke. He would be her shield from now on and protector with every ounce of his heart. If it was possible, Nightmahre felt as if he loved Gabrielle more than Rhoslyn. A human and a vampire. A person who only had one life while the other could've lived forever. A woman with a warrior's heart and a female with a gentle soul. But Gabrielle lured Nightmahre like none other. He had feelings for Rhoslyn that they wanted to start a family. He had believed that he loved his _shellan _with all his heart. Nightmahre had been in so much pain when she had died. Nothing in the world could've trumped his pain.

But when he saw Gabrielle, everything that had been broken in him started to mend. And after he saw who she really was, the pain began to disappear. And when she got hurt, the pain Nightmahre had felt when Rhoslyn died was way stronger that it would've killed him. He had lived on without Rhoslyn. But if Gabrielle died, Nightmahre knew he couldn't live without her. His love for her was so strong that even he couldn't comprehend it.

"Hohnihohkaiyohos."

Nightmahre had grown used to her calling him by that name that he looked down. Gabrielle didn't meet his eyes.

"Don't you dare leave me."

Everything inside him stopped. She then looked up and her eyes captured Nightmahre. The very thing he had been waited to hear was happening. The look of longing and fear was clear as day in Gabrielle's brown eyes.

"I love you."

Nightmahre pulled Gabrielle and sealed his lips over hers. His kiss told her everything he was feeling the moment she said the very words he had been waiting to hear. He would spend every day with Gabrielle until the day he could no longer touch her. With her being human, Nightmahre wouldn't waste a single moment. He would love Gabrielle until the day she drew her last breath and continue to love her in memory. All he wanted was her and now she was his by body and heart.

"I love you, too."


	23. Chapter 23

Chapter Twenty Three

The vision striked so fast that it startled Gabrielle awake. Nightmahre was sound asleep next to her. Thank God he didn't wake up because tears stung her eyes that they flooded down her cheeks. It had only been a few hours that they had told each other they loved one another. After their declaration, Nightmahre had left to go get some breakfast as she started the next episode. It had been entertaining watching Nightmahre remark about every false information the show made about vampires. It had amusing when they had watched One for the Money the first night. Both of them laughed so hard that Nightmahre's brothers and their _shellans _had joined them.

But now it felt like all those good times turned to ash when the vision happened. Gabrielle had already imagined the future she would have with the male she loved even though she was human. Now her fantasy had been ripped from her grasp before she had time to clutch it. Everything Gabrielle wanted to do with Nightmahre was now destroyed. Her life burned to the ground before she even had the time to stack it up.

Rolling to her side, she traced Nightmahre's face. She engraved every detail about him in her memory. Muffling her sobs, Gabrielle kissed both of Nightmahre's eyes and his lips. His body reacted and she felt that arm search for her. Taking his hand in hers, she kissed his hand as well and raked her fingers through his hair.

"Nightmahre."

* * *

Gabrielle was still sleeping when Nightmahre woke. Since First Meal would be starting soon, Nightmahre took this time to go downstairs to make breakfast. Sliding from the sheets without waking Gabrielle, Nightmahre found a pair of jeans and slipped into them. Not bothering to tie his hair back, he closed the door behind him and started down the hallway.

It seemed everyone was awake and about in the mansion. The Brothers were in the study since their voices echoed out of the door slightly opened and their females were already in the room preparing to eat. As Nightmahre made his way to the kitchen, something odd caught his eye. Even though the curtains covered a portion of the front windows, one could still see the front of the mansion during night. Some of V's toys were parked in the front along with Xhex's Harley. It was the old truck that struck Nightmahre as odd. Sam's vehicle was parked in the front and Nightmahre didn't see the human anywhere. Logic told the male that Sam might be with the Brothers.

Shrugging the thought and finding his way to the kitchen, Nightmahre grabbed a tray and started picking some fruit when the Brothers made their way over. Seeing them walk past the kitchen to the dining room, something foreboding crawled over Nightmahre's skin. Sam wasn't with the males. Nightmahre turned his back and grabbed a couple of bowls for cereal when Sohrrow came in.

"Night."

The brothers said their greetings when Ehnvy and Phride walked in as well. It had been a while since they saw their older brother that they were making most of this moment. Nightmahre asked about their days and once again congratulated his little brother on the big news. Phride blushed and Ehnvy slung his arm over his brother. Sohrrow said that there hadn't been much to do since the number of _lessers _were declining.

Since Nightmahre had his brothers, he looked over their shoulders in case he said something wrong. Sohrrow and the others looked back as well before looking at their older brother.

"You guys haven't seen Sam, have you?"

"Nope. Last I heard he gave the staff a day off and closed The Pack for the day. I think Lhyra said he would be out of town for a couple of days," answered Sam.

"But his truck is parked outside."

That was news to the three because they left the kitchen for a second and returned with worry written all over their faces.

"Did anyone know it was outside?" asked Nightmahre.

"I'm sure we would've known if the human was here," answered Ehnvy.

"Besides, he would have to get past the gates and V always monitors the gates," Phride murmured.

Something weird was happening and the brothers didn't like it. Since they all agreed that it was weird that Sam's truck was here when he said he would be out of town had them on edge. With the tray still in his hand, Nightmahre agreed to meet his brothers after First Meal to see what was going on,

As the brothers parted ways, Nightmahre walk up the stairs and was about to open the bedroom door when it he saw it ajar. He could've sworn that he closed it when he left to get breakfast. With Sam's truck here and now the door open wasn't making any sense at all. That same feeling was creeping all over Nightmahre that it was practically dancing on him.

Reaching for the knob, he was about to push the door open when someone spoke.

"Damn it."

It was Sam.

"Did you see anything that could help us out? The smallest detail could be the key in helping us."

"I told you everything I saw."

That was Gabrielle's voice. But something about it was different. There was a tremble in her voice that sent ice down Nightmahre. Something was wrong with his female and she was talking to Sam about it.

"When did you see his future?"

"Only an hour ago. God, Sam. How could this happen again? First Danny, Jose and Aaron. Then Ryan. Has the world had enough fun of ripping the people I care about from my life? Now it's going to tear Nightmahre away from me."

The tray fell out of his hand and clattered to the ground. Food scattered all over the floor and the dishes shattered into tiny pieces. In the distance, the laughter coming from the dining room silenced and some footsteps began making their way towards the room. But Nightmahre beat whoever was coming to check on them. With a shaking hand, he gave the door a little shove and it swung wide open.

Sam was sitting in a chair with his arms folded over the back since he was sitting on it backwards. Gabrielle was sitting against the headboard clutching a pillow. She had changed into a black shirt and a pair of sweats. Her hair flowed over her shoulders that her eyes were hidden from Nightmahre. But her arms constricted around the pillow that it looked like it would be ripped in half. She brought her knees closer that the pillow now covered her face. For some reason, Gabrielle wouldn't look up at Nightmahre.

"What future?" he asked. More like croaked since his body was shaking uncontrollably. The faint image of Sohrrow appeared to his right along with Vishous. Nightmahre paid no attention to them. He wanted to hear what Gabrielle told Sam.

"Hohnihohkaiyohos," she mumbled into the pillow. When Gabrielle pulled back, her eyes were swollen from crying. Sam's body shook that the chair fumbled on its legs and his face hardened. Gabrielle didn't look up when she spoke.

"A vision came to me in my sleep. It was one of not my will. It came so fast but was clear as day. I…I saw you and Sohrrow fighting Xcor and the band of bastards. And…" She couldn't complete her sentence. Gabrielle's hold returned on the pillow and she buried her face to hide her tears. She didn't so much as flinch when Sam's temper go the best of him and he flung the chair he had been sitting on across the room. The soldier composure was gone and the human in the room was a time bomb ready to go off.

Ehnvy and Phride had rushed up when they heard the chair shatter against the wall. Sohrrow and V made a hesitant step closer to the door. Nightmahre refused to move. His mind was still trying to sort out what Gabrielle tried to say. She had said that she saw a vision she didn't call for. Nightmahre remembered what Gabrielle told him about those visions. They were the same ones that showed her the deaths of her closest friends and the futures that couldn't be changed. And she had one and didn't tell Nightmahre. And she couldn't tell him what happened because she was crying.

Crying for him.

With no thought in his head, he rushed into the room and collected Gabrielle in his arms. She wrapped her arms around his neck and buried her face in his chest as she cried out loud. Gabrielle cried for the both of them and her heart broke for every tear she shed. She saw a vision she hoped would never happen or one she could change. Seeing it against her will was set in stone just like the other two. Danny, Ryan, Jose and Aaron died because Gabrielle couldn't change their futures. She had hoped the world had its fun in torturing her life. Watching her friends die had scared her from loving. Gabrielle feared that if she loved someone too much that she would see their future and be unable to change it.

Gabrielle had a right to fear. For five years away from Caldwell she had kept away from anyone she could love. Her father was immune to her visions since he could still see into the future. Her mother's future was set in stone as well. Gabrielle's father had seen her mother's long ago that Gabrielle couldn't see her mother's future. Since she couldn't see her parents' futures, Gabrielle never worried about losing them. She could love them with the fact that she would never see their futures. Gabrielle cared about Sam as a friend and that was enough for her because all of his futures could be changed.

The world wasn't done with her just yet. Gabrielle made the fatefully mistake falling in love. Her love for Nightmahre was so strong that she felt every part of her break that it was unbearable. She had just found the one person she wanted to spend the rest of her life with and she was about to lose him. Gabrielle had seen Nightmahre's future and watched him die by Xcor's scythe. She watched as his sword shattered and left him open for the attack. Bringing his scythe up, Xcor had landed a perfect blow on Nightmahre. Blood was everywhere. Nightmahre fell to his knees and breathed his last breath. Watching him fall to the earth, Gabrielle had screamed in the vision that it woke her.

Now Nightmahre knew. The very person she loved with her whole being knew he was going to die and there was nothing she could do to save him.


End file.
